Lakers have given Luka Doncic a cushion, but the pressure is unavoidable

The Los Angeles Lakers have achieved the unthinkable, acquiring a new franchise player in the early days of February. It was even more shocking when one considers how well Los Angeles has played in 2024-25, thus rendering a landscape-altering trade a perceived impossibility.

Instead, Luka Doncic has joined a team that currently sits 12 games clear of .500 and has ranked among the very best in the NBA since Jan. 1.

Los Angeles is currently 32-20, boasting a record of 14-6 since Jan. 1—the sixth-best mark in the NBA during that time. During that time, the Lakers have ranked No. 5 in defensive rating, No. 6 in offensive rating, and No. 5 in net rating.

Much of that can be attributed to the monumental impact of Dorian Finney-Smith, who has transformed Los Angeles' identity on both ends of the floor since he was acquired in late December.

Rather than doubling down on adding high-level role players who can fill the gaps, however, the Lakers went the superstar route with Doncic. A learning curve should be expected and accepted, as he's unexpectedly entering an entirely different routine, culture, and structure.

For as important as it will be for fans to maintain their perspective, the pressure is already on Doncic to deliver a meaningful postseason in 2024-25.

Luka Doncic deserves patience, but Lakers need a solid postseason

If the current standings hold, the Lakers would face the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. For as strong as Houston is, fans would be well within their rights to expect Los Angeles to win that series.

The postseason experience between the star players on each side is so vastly different that the presence of Doncic, let alone LeBron James, should will the Lakers to a win.

Unfortunately, the second-round matchup would likely be an encounter with the buzzsaw that is the 44-10 Oklahoma City Thunder. Expecting the Lakers to win that series without an answer at center would be a bit of an irrational leap of faith.

In saying that, Doncic would set Los Angeles on a positive course by helping the franchise win a series in his first season with the team—due in no small part to its recent history.

Los Angeles won a playoff series in just two of their six seasons during the Anthony Davis and James era: 2020 and 2023. It lost in the first round in 2021 and 2024, and outright missed the playoffs during the 2021-22 regular season.

By leading the Lakers out of the first round of the playoffs in his first season with the team, Doncic would show how different this era truly can be.

The obvious hurdle for all of this, of course, is the Lakers needing to finish the regular season strong enough to make the playoffs and ideally avoid the Play-In Tournament. Los Angeles must reach the postseason, however, and needs to change its identity once it arrives.

If Doncic manages to lead the Lakers past the first round, the future of the franchise will be led with a far different confidence than what hindered it in the past.