There is no question that there are still reasons to doubt the Los Angeles Lakers' status as a true, top-of-the-line contender for a championship this season. The concerns surrounding their defense is very real, and we know that teams lacking on the defensive side of things always get exposed in the playoffs. It is nearly impossible for an NBA team to go all the way without a solid defense, and this has been proven time after time.
But at the end of the day, Laker fans can still have optimism for one simple reason: the man wearing number 77. Luka Doncic is an all-encompassing offensive talent, and he bends defenses like almost no other player in the world can do. And as great as Doncic is in the regular season, Lakers fans are soon going to witness first hand how much better he gets in the playoffs.
Many other great offensive talents can be bothered by lengthy defenders in the postseason, and taken out of their normal rhythm. Some All-NBA level guys could even be described as playoff droppers. But it is much harder to do this to Doncic. His game has historically taken a big step up when the games matter most.
Doncic has always been a playoff riser
In four postseason runs with the Dallas Mavericks, Luka's scoring average went up three times. The only time it did not was last season, when he played 22 postseason games while leading the Mavs to the NBA Finals. Throughout these playoff runs, he has routinely put his team on his back offensively and looked completely unstoppable.
The NBA community at large knew Doncic was going to be a problem in the playoffs the moment he stepped on the floor for his first postseason game. Back in 2020, Luka scored 42 in his playoff debut, and he has never looked back. Doncic has just four career playoff games with under 20 points, while he has 27 games of at least 30 points in the postseason. That is simply a staggering number.
Last season, Doncic led his team to the Finals while nursing a right knee sprain as well as left ankle soreness. Injured or not, we know that Luka is going to deliver. This is why every Laker fan cried out with joy when that fateful notification flashed across their screens back in the first week of February. LA knows that regardless of anything else, having number 77 means they will have a shot at a championship.
