Ex-Laker Name Drops Nico Harrison While Taking Shot at Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic’s playoff debut with the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t go as well as his first couple of months with the team. They got blown out 117-95 by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Doncic scored a game-high 37 points, but he struggled on defense and only notched one assist. When the Dallas Mavericks traded him to the Lakers, the team was questioned for trading away their franchise superstar.

General manager Nico Harrison has defended the trade by saying that defense is more important than offense. Doncic is arguably the best offensive player in the NBA, but his play on the defensive side of the court has left a lot to be desired.

Former Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins appeared on Fanduel’s “Run It Back,” where he took a shot at Doncic and suggested that Harrison may have made the right move.

“As far as Luka goes, was Nico wrong?” Cousins said in response to Doncic’s defensive performance in Game 1.

The Lakers went from a team trying to avoid the play-in tournament to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference while the Mavericks missed the playoffs altogether, less than a year after Doncic led them to the NBA Finals.

Harrison Didn’t Realize How Much Doncic Meant to Mavs Fans

The Mavericks were quickly met with great pushback from the fans once the Doncic trade news circulated online. Harrison has been Public Enemy No. 1 for the fan base, and there are frequent “fire Nico” chants that break out during home games.

Harrison was aware that he was making a big move, but he may have underestimated how aggressively the fans would react.

“I did know that Luka was important to the fanbase. I didn’t quite know to what level,” Harrison told reporters. “Really, the way we looked at it was if you’re putting a team on the floor that’s Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis and Derrick Lively, we feel that’s a championship-caliber team. And we would’ve been winning at a high level and that would have quieted some of the outrage.”

Doncic Apologizes to Lakers Fans

Harrison could still be vindicated if the Lakers don’t win anything with Doncic, and the Mavericks are able to make a run with a healthy Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.

Regardless, Doncic is focused on the Lakers right now. He was disappointed that his first home playoff game in front of the Los Angeles fans ended in an ugly loss. He apologized to the fans.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Doncic told reporters after the game. “Sorry we couldn’t get the first win. But it’s always first to four. It was amazing. The crowd was amazing. They were cheering for us even when we were down, so I appreciate it.”

Doncic is a very strong playoff performer, but the Lakers are going to need more from him on the defensive side of the court. He’s so good on offense that it helps make up for the defensive struggles, but Los Angeles doesn’t have the personnel to pick up the slack.

The Lakers don’t need Doncic to be prime Hakeem Olajuwon, but they do need him to get some stops.