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By Justin Grasso
Contributing Sports Writer
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Luka Doncic’s first full season with the Los Angeles Lakers has taken an odd turn.
After the season started hot for LA, the Lakers have struggled to impress on the defensive side of the ball. The star guard Luka Doncic is once again under a microscope due to his personal defensive struggles, which led to the former NBA All-Star, Jeff Teague, taking a young rising star over Doncic while making comparisons.
Cade Cunningham or Luka Doncic?
“Give me Cade,” Teague said with confidence. “He actually plays defense. Nobody says Cade is a cone.”
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Last season, Cade Cunningham entered the year as a newly signed max player on a team that won 14 games the previous year. The Pistons invested heavily in his development, and it paid off rather quickly.
An All-Star appearance for Cunningham was a solid step in the right direction. This season, Cunningham is on his way to another All-Star appearance while leading the Pistons to become the top team in the Eastern Conference throughout the 2025 phase of the season.
The Cade-Luka debate might’ve been far-fetched when the Slovenian star was wearing a Dallas Mavericks jersey and the Pistons were at the bottom of the East, but these days, Cunningham’s entering that MVP picture that Luka has been a part of for quite some time.
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Expanding on Luka Criticism…
“That’s no disrespect to Luka, I think Luka is one of the greatest offensive talents we’ve ever seen, but there are just two sides to basketball. … It’s too glaring, bro,” Teague added.
“When everybody in the world knows you’re not going to stop nobody, that’s kind of [messed] up. I mean, Cade can score just as good as Luka—Luka is probably a little bit better of a scorer, but it ain’t like just too far apart where Cade can’t get 30—nah, he can. I think he can get 30 a night if he really, really tried.”
Doncic is undoubtedly one of the best scorers in the game still. He’s currently putting up 33.5 points per game, while shooting 45 percent from the field. He’s also dishing out 8.7 assists per game.
But as a unit, the Lakers have struggled on defense, a fact that’s often called out by the head coach, JJ Redick, and the struggles always start with the head of the snake.
Luka and the Lakers have plenty of time to work through their issues. While it will be difficult for Doncic to shake the narrative that’s been hovering over him since he’s been in Texas, the veteran star has more levels to reach, and the Lakers will need him to do that if they’re going to compete for a championship.
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