DALLAS - Nearly a year after the most devastating decision in Dallas sports history, it remains more than a little surreal to see Luka Doncic in purple and gold at American Airlines Center. This will likely be so for his third and fourth and 15th return, even if the life of a Laker suits him these days.
He paid $25 million last fall for Maria Sharapova’s old digs on Manhattan Beach once he got out of that $15 million deal for a Preston Hollow manse. He still has a place in Bluffview, at least for now. But Dallas will never be home again.
Fans can beg all they want - one posted a sign the size of a Porsche during the Lakers’ 116-110 win Saturday - but he’s Los Angeles’ now, and he’s doing just fine.
“The biggest thing is he’s more comfortable around the players and our system,” LeBron James said after the Lakers’ fourth-quarter rally with seven minutes left erased the Mavs’ 15-point lead.
“He’s more comfortable in the city. We’re all rallying around him.”
Luka’s good.
The Mavs?
Not so much, and not just because they blew a game they had in the bag.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone not named Nico Harrison. JJ Redick knew what the Lakers were getting from his days as a Mav in the back half of the 2020-21 season.
“I was just always struck by his competitive spirit and how much he really wants to win,” the Lakers’ coach said Saturday.
“I don’t think anything has surprised me.”
Not that there haven’t been a few rough patches along the way. Like any superstar blindsided in the middle of a season by a trade, Luka needed time to get over the shock. He recovered nicely over the summer by getting into the best shape of his life. Redick also credited him with taking the time to get to know his new teammates, calling this “a great version of Luka.”
Just the same, the coach hasn’t been hesitant to call out his point guard, as he did after Thursday’s loss to the Clippers. His line looked terrific: 32 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists. But his minus-17 rating on the stat sheet made him the worst of any Laker.
Redick figured a message needed to be delivered. And not in private.
“There’s got to be a trust factor with all our guys just to trust the pass,” he said after that game. “That starts with Luka. He’s going to have the ball the most of everyone. He’s got to trust the pass. He gets two on him and he’s playing in a crowd, he’s got to pass the ball.”
“I think as much as we can talk about being connected on defense, you got to be connected on offense.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time this criticism has come up. Not even in Los Angeles. Luka’s leading the league in scoring at 33.4 points per game, but his usage rate, 38.1%, is also the highest of his career. What makes it more problematic than usual is that eight Lakers don’t have a contract for next season. They need their shots. As Rui Hachimura complained in December after a loss to the Suns in which he made just one attempt, “This happens playing with these guys. I signed up for that. I understand it.
“But everybody knows that’s not how we’re going to win.”
This is how the Lakers won Saturday: LeBron came alive late in the fourth quarter, and Luka did what Luka does, with a line of 33 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
What was different was the six straight stops he made late when the Mavs targeted him on defense, and rightfully so. Luka’s defense has been so poor this season that Reggie Miller called him out on national TV last month, just as he once called him out for being out of shape.
There were no complaints Saturday. Luka kept the Lakers in it until LeBron finally got it together, and a house nearly full shook off the bitter cold to extend a warm welcome to a departed star.
With a little less than two minutes left in the half and Luka at the line after a questionable foul on Dwight Powell, a message on the video screen begged fans to respond with an appropriate level of outrage at the slight.
Crickets.
They just couldn’t bring themselves to boo.
A few seconds later, with Luka at the line again, a chant of “MVP ... MVP” went up. It could have been Laker fans, I suppose. It also could have been a reflex reaction. They wouldn’t have been the only ones lost in the moment.
On his way off the floor after a lob too tall for Deandre Ayton at the half, Luka had to make a sharp U-turn when he realized he was headed to the wrong locker room.
Hard to break old habits, probably, though he’s making progress.
Come a long way since Thursday, anyway.
“Luka wants to win, so I’m not surprised,” Redick said of his response to the challenge. “A-plus. He played a fantastic game. He orchestrated things for us early to get us the lead, and orchestrated it late to allow us to win the game.”
Luka is now 4-0 against his old pals, and there’s no sign of that trend ending anytime soon. He loves to win, as Redick noted, but even Luka conceded “this one is a little bit different.” He didn’t cry like he did during a two-minute tribute in his first return last spring, but it’s not just another game, either.
He’s still got friends and fans and a house here, even if it’s no longer home.
“There’s still emotions, trust me,” he said.
“A little bit better, a little bit easier for me.”
Even if it’s not so easy for everyone here, and never will be.