Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers have produced a 7-3 record to start the season through the first 10 games.
The Lakers will be tested this week, starting with the second game of a five-game road trip, as they will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, to take on the Hornets.
Los Angeles managed a 4-0 start on the road this season before dropping a road game to the shorthanded Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The loss to the Hawks snapped the Lakers’ five-game win streak, while proving that Los Angeles won’t be able to stay hot forever with the ongoing state of the roster.
The Lakers have benefited from high-scoring performances from Dončić and Austin Reaves, but haven’t had the two on the court together since Nov. 2.
When Dončić and Reaves are on the court together, the Lakers are 3-1, with the only loss coming in the season-opener against the Golden State Warriors 119-109.
In each of the first two games of the season, Dončić scored at least 43 points with Reaves in the lineup. The Slovenian star benefits from Reaves being alongside him in the lineup. Without Reaves, Dončić has not scored more than 35.
Dončić has averaged nearly a triple-double this season with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 9.5 assists in six games played.
For the first two games without Dončić in the lineup, Reaves produced 51 and 41 points. The fifth-year guard has averaged 24.5 in games he’s shared the court with Dončić.
Reaves has averaged 31.1 points, 9.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds. His points and assists totals have him ranked fourth in the league in both categories. He’s missed the last three games due to a groin injury.
The Lakers had just one game so far this season without Dončić or Reaves in the lineup, managing to pull off a win against the Portland Trailblazers 123-115 on Nov. 3.
Deandre Ayton put together a double-double performance with 29 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Rui Hachimura added 28 points and Nick Smith Jr. came off the bench to add 25 points and six assists.
Without two of their better players in the lineup, the victory provided some hope that the Lakers still have enough talent to overcome a .556 team like Portland.
That same support did not shine through with Dončić back in the lineup against the Hawks, with Ayton going 5-for-5 from the field for 11 points and Hachimura being limited to eight points after shooting 3-for-9 from the field. Smith was limited to just three points in 23 minutes of play.
‘I feel like we were just behind the ball a little bit and they killed us in transition and they played amazing defense,’ Ayton told reporters after the loss in Atlanta. ‘We weren’t ready for it and JJ (Redick) got on us about it.’
The Lakers’ coach was not pleased with the team’s performance and held his shortest postgame press conference of the season.
‘I realized that in the first two minutes of the game,’ Redick told reporters when he was asked if there was something in the third quarter that he could point to regarding the lack of production from his first unit.
The Lakers are still waiting for LeBron James to rejoin the team and make his season debut.
When will LeBron James return?
James has not officially started his 23rd season in the NBA and remains unavailable for the Lakers due to a right sciatica injury.
The veteran was expected to be reevaluated three or four weeks from the initial Oct. 9 date when the injury was announced. Four weeks passed on Thursday, Nov. 6, and he did not join the Lakers to start their current road trip.
James is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he was named second-team All-NBA and finished sixth in the MVP voting. The four-time NBA champion averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game in 70 games played last season.
When do the Lakers play next?
The Lakers will play the second game of a five-game road trip against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT)