Kendrick Perkins Sends Warning to Luka Doncic Ahead of Lakers Season
Newsweek · C · trust 36/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. After teasing just portions of the regular-season schedule earlier this week, the NBA released the full slate of games for every team on Thursday, including the Los Angeles Lakers .
They'll open their season on Wednesday, Oct. 21, when they host Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and the Golden State Warriors.
Another significant game for the Lakers will be the first return visit by their former superstar, LeBron James, to face his former teammates, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. James and his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers, play the Lakers on Christmas Day.
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins shared his thoughts on the Lakers' upcoming season, the first in which Doncic is the main superstar without James on the roster.
"I think they're gonna have one of the best offensive teams in the league," Perkins said on ESPN's "NBA Today," mentioning that Doncic is one of the best offensive players in the league and they have enough "offensive firepower" to win games.
Perkins also called them fifth-best in the Western Conference "on paper," suggesting that the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves are above them. He called them "middle of the pack" but said that means "nothing to the Lakers fanbase."
"It will still be the same standard, meaning that it's championship or bust, and so now you start this new era. The official era of Luka Doncic has officially started, so now he's on the clock because the Lakers fanbase, they're spoiled. They're built on championships," Perkins said.
The Lakers initially believed bringing Doncic to the team to pair with James would deliver at least another championship, but that never occurred. However, Doncic and his backcourt mate Reaves are capable of big performances. Doncic had multiple 50-plus-point games last season, while Reaves went off for 51 points in a game against the Sacramento Kings.
This offseason not only saw the departure of their teammate James, who signed with the 76ers for the next several seasons, but also saw the Lakers add new personnel. They acquired former Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler to man the middle and also added former 76ers player Quentin Grimes to the lineup.
Both of these players have shown their ability to score effectively, and potentially in bunches for the Lakers when needed. Last season, Grimes recorded a 31-point game against the Portland Trail Blazers and a 28-point game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Kessler was limited with the Jazz last season due to injuries, but he's a double-double machine who could have a huge night on the way during his fresh start with the Lakers.
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