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Luka Doncic 65-game rule challenge Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham

Not even a Wall Street quant used to reading outcomes could’ve predicted the end to the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular season. 

Austin Reaves started grabbing his side and wincing in pain; Luka Doncic reached for his hamstring and hobbled in severe ache; the rest of the team watched as the season appeared to slip away in one fell swoop.

The Lakers responded to the adversity by first losing to a lottery team and then getting pulverized on their homecourt in a game that saw their head coach badly lose it multiple times. 

The sky was falling. Everything was reduced to shreds. Turn the page to the next season and put us out of this misery. 

Wait. 

Here came LeBron James. Maybe not “2018 LeBron” but close enough. Los Angeles won and then won again. No one could’ve imagined hearing (or reading) that, especially not while Doncic was somewhere in Europe and Reaves was wearing a comfy-looking hoodie while seated at the end of the bench.

Suddenly, the Lakers look like they have a pulse again. 

GettyLeBron James lets out a smile. 

Is it because James has found 2018 all over again? Did JJ Redick’s sideline eruptions do the trick? Is Doncic somewhere out there in disguise?

No, no and no.

While James has reminded the world that he’s more than an asset on “the shelf,” L.A. has discovered the table-setter it never knew it had. 

Los Angeles Lakers Turn to Surprise Name to Pick Up Slack

Doncic and Reaves aren’t the kind of players who can be supplanted. Especially not Doncic, who looked like the scoring machine of all scoring machines throughout March up until he went down. But the Lakers have somehow made up for at least some of the playmaking Doncic brought to the table.

From where, you may ask? 

From the guy who was seen fixing his shooting sleeve two seconds before firing away a game-winning 3-pointer in Orlando a few weeks ago. 

And the guy who was playing a mere 20 minutes a game on the pre-February Atlanta Hawks. For those who may struggle to remember, that version of the Hawks was lottery-destined. 

His name is Luke Kennard. 

Dare we say Kennard has looked like baby Doncic? 

Over the last four games, the 29-year-old L.A. guard has averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. Truly, Doncic would be proud. 

It’s not unusual for a key role player to boost his averages when a bigger opportunity becomes available, but the way Kennard has slid into a new role and has begun thriving so quickly is highly commendable. The guy who was seen as nothing more than a spot-up shooter as recently as a little over a week ago is now bringing the ball up the court. Even James, the ultimate floor general, has been comfortably strolling up the court as Kennard sets up the offense.

How did the league’s best 3-point shooter by percentage respond to being “just a shooter” after moving to point guard? By coming out in his first game in a new role and rattling off a triple-double, the first of his nine-year career. 

“He’s just a ball player,” James said, according to the L.A. Times. “… People just kind of gave him the narrative of just being a shooter. But he does so many more things. He can handle the ball, he can rebound the ball, he can make plays. … And what we’re missing right now, we need it [from him]. We need it more and more than ever.”

Kennard played point guard in high school, so it is entirely stunning seeing him rip off 30+ assists in his last four games. Still, this is the Los Angeles Lakers we are talking about. To suddenly start captaining the ship and overtaking a player like Doncic is a high degree-of-difficult task. He is beating the odds so far. 

Can the James-Kennard Duo Compensate for Doncic’s Absence? 

It’s impossible to fill the shoes of a nearly 34 points per game scorer; Kennard certainly isn’t going to be asked to score anywhere close to that. But with his table-setting ability and James’ playmaking IQ, there is real opportunity for the Lakers to find some offense in the first round of the playoffs. 

James is clearly still a very capable scorer, and Kennard will continue to be one of, if not the very best, at shooting open 3-pointers. Playing James off the ball and putting him in slashing actions is one way. Playing Kennard off the ball and James at point to orchestrate quality 3-point looks is another way.

Redick has been vocal about the Lakers needing to adjust their identity without their top two scorers. Perhaps he doesn’t say that with such conviction if he didn’t think his team could find ways to exploit defenses even without two of the top scorers on the planet. 

Los Angeles may have found a little something-something with Kennard at point guard.