Lakers success without Luka Doncic is fueling a bigger debate

Lakers success without Luka Doncic is fueling a bigger debate originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Lakers are doing what contenders are supposed to do this time of year. They are winning, defending, and finding answers in the margins. What they are not doing, at least right now, is relying on their biggest star.

Luka Doncic has been sidelined since early April with a hamstring injury, and yet the Lakers have opened their playoff series against the Houston Rockets with a 2-0 lead. On the surface, that should simply be a credit to depth and coaching. Instead, it has quietly turned into something more complicated.

It has turned into a debate.

A take that refuses to go away

Few voices lean into controversy quite like Skip Bayless, and he didn’t hesitate to seize this moment. Speaking on “Gil’s Arena,” Bayless argued the Lakers look better without Doncic, going as far as to call him the “most inefficient player in the league.” It’s the kind of statement that immediately draws backlash, especially when aimed at the NBA’s leading scorer. Doncic averaged 33.5 points per game this season and carried the Lakers through long stretches before his injury.

But the timing of the comment is what makes it stick. The Lakers are not just surviving without him. They are thriving.

A different kind of rhythm

Without Doncic and Austin Reaves in the lineup, the Lakers have leaned into a more balanced identity. LeBron James has orchestrated the offense with control, but the ball has not stopped. It has moved. Role players have stepped into clearer roles, none more noticeable than , who is averaging 25 points through the first two games of the series. The spacing looks cleaner. The decision-making looks quicker. The group looks connected.