Luka Dončić’s tenure in purple and gold is officially underway, and GoJo and Golic dove into his debut versus the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
The Lakers organization and the city of Los Angeles went to great lengths to welcome the Slovenian superstar from changing the ll’s in the Hollywood sign to reflect Dončić’s 77 jersey number to each fan in attendance for Monday’s game being gifted a Dončić jersey shirt. LeBron James even let Dončić be introduced last in the lineup and encouraged him in the huddle pregame to “don’t fit in, fit the f— out.”
Dončić did not disappoint in his debut, scoring 14 points in 24 minutes. His most highlighted plays were a step-back 3-pointer and a smooth lob into an alley-oop to Jaxson Hayes. With the Lakers defeating Utah, 132-113, and sitting at fourth in the Western Conference, Senior questioned just how well this Lakers unit can play together in the future. The Mark Williams trade was rescinded because of a failed physical, so with some of the top teams in the West having valuable bigs, such as Nikola Jokić with Denver and Chet Holmgren with the Thunder, it will be interesting to see how the Lakers respond.
Regarding fit, GoJo affirmed that Dončić looked good in the offense. However, the Jazz does not represent a threat to the Lakers, especially compared to some of the other teams atop the Western Conference. On Monday night, the Lakers had Austin Reaves and Dončić in the game versus the Jazz, which would be a glaring defensive liability if it were any other team playing. Nonetheless, in the post-game presser, Dončić expressed tremendous praise for sharing the court with James. Senior says the Lakers may not be a true title contender, but they will at least be fun to watch. Senior also explained that a lot of the reason why morale is on the rise in Los Angeles is because the organization sees the light at the end of the James tunnel. He shared that the future is set to be built around Dončić.
At the same time that the lights appear to be shining brighter in LA, there seems to be this dark cloud looming over the DFW area as Mavericks fans are still recovering from the trade that sent their young superstar to the West Coast. To add insult to injury, Anthony Davis is out and will be out for a while with yet another injury, this time an oblique strain, and fans are calling for Mavericks GM Nico Harrison’s job with the executive even reportedly receiving death threats. GoJo said the Mavericks look soft after having multiple fans ejected on Monday night. They’ve continued the public slander of Luka, with Patrick Dumont coming out and making comments about Luka in the local press. GoJo says if you’re going to do that you have to at least be able to eat a little criticism of the home front, short, of course, of fans making death threats which is not something that should be happening.
Senior says it’s a bit of mess in Dallas, but the proof will be in the pudding. They were in the Finals last year, so the expectation will be to go further in the next couple of years. If it doesn’t happen, Senior says the criticism will continue, especially since he expects Luka to continue to play well given that he’s just 25 years old. And GoJo points out the extra twist of the knife — Mavs icon Dirk Nowitzki was courtside to support Luka in his debut in a real blood’s thicker than water situation. And Luka hitting the Dirk stepback? Just another cut to the Mavs’ battered psyche as the vibes are immaculate in Los Angeles and … something less than immaculate in Dallas.
Watch or listen to the full show below and tune into GoJo and Golic weekday mornings from 8-10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Hour 1: La La Luka + Record-Breaking Viewership + Philly Love Parade + Super Bowl Flowers
VIDEO
Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show is also available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
