The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled defensively this season, and one star player is at the center of the team's issues.
Per ESPN, Luka Doncic allows a blow-by on 41% of his drives, which ranks fourth worst among eligible players in the league. He ranks 109th in the league in effective field goal percentage on contests.
Doncic's most common defensive matchups this season include Jaylen Wells, Herb Jones, Kris Dunn and Svi Mykhailiuk.
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Doncic has had a stellar offensive season. His 33.4 points per game leads the NBA, and he's also averaging 7.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists. This is his second season in LA after being acquired from the Dallas Mavericks last year.
But his defensive issues have limited the Lakers' success. LA (27-17) is fifth in the Western Conference, but 17th in the league in point differential (-0.2). They have lost six of their past 10 games.
LA is 25th in the NBA in defensive rating this season, giving up 116.2 points per game. The only teams worse defensively than the Lakers are the Nets, Pelicans, Kings, Wizards and Jazz.
But the Lakers have been playing better defense lately. LA has held its past four opponents to less than 113 points, going 3-1 in that stretch. They limited the Toronto Raptors to 93 points on Jan. 18., their best defensive performance this season.
It remains to be seen if the Lakers can maintain their defensive focus as they begin to make their playoff push. They return to action Monday night against the Chicago Bulls.