All eyes are on Luka Doncic’s stomach heading into Game 4
No, this is not a reference to the Dallas Mavericks’ efforts to label Doncic as pudgy after they inexplicably traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this season.
It’s about Doncic’s health. The Lakers revealed that Doncic battled a stomach bug in Game 3, which helped explain his poor performance in the Lakers’ 116-104 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Doncic missed 10 of 16 shots and committed a handful of turnovers, and the Timberwolves took a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals series.
Now the star-powered Lakers face the possibility of falling behind 3-1 in the series on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. That would put all of the pressure on the shoulders of Doncic, LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers as they return to Los Angeles.
Alternatively, if the Lakers can bounce back Sunday, the series will be even at 2-all and Doncic and his teammates will regain home-court advantage for what essentially will be a best-of-three race to the finish.
All of this is to say that the pressure is climbing.
And Doncic is crashing — or at least he was Friday night.
The missed shots were tough, especially as Doncic shot 2 of 8 from 3-point range. That’s territory where he has dominated the Timberwolves in the past, including last season with the Mavericks. Fans in Minnesota still have vivid memories of Doncic burying a step-back 3-pointer over Rudy Gobert to win Game 2 of the conference finals.
Doncic’s turnovers were equally costly. Anthony Edwards poked the ball loose from him before driving the baseline and dunking over Doncic’s head in the third quarter. Gobert got a small bit of revenge against Doncic as he stole the ball and set up Jaden McDaniels for a layup and a free throw late in the fourth quarter as Minnesota pulled ahead.
Things could be different Sunday. For Doncic and the Lakers, they will need to be.
Teammate Dorian Finney-Smith saw how much Doncic was hurting at halftime.
“I didn’t think he was going to come out (for the) second half,” Finney-Smith said. “Just because (of) how he sounded. His body language. How he looked. He looked a little pale today. He probably needs to hydrate some more. But like I said, Luka’s tough.”
The timing was tough, too.
Doncic averaged a team-high 34 points in the first two games of the series. He still leads the Lakers with 28.3 points per game in the series despite playing sick in Game 3.
“Obviously, with his illness, it impacts our team,” James said. “We understand what he brings to our team and what he’s done since the acquisition. It definitely took a big blow for our team.”
Anyone who has battled a stomach bug this winter or spring (is this actually everyone?) knows how it can knock you out for a day or more. Everything hurts. You just want to be alone in a dark, quiet room for a while.
Here’s the problem for Doncic: There’s very little time for that. He is going to be in a very crowded, incredibly loud room and under a very bright spotlight for Game 4.
It’s an early tipoff, as well, which could pose another challenge. With the game set to start at 2:30 p.m. in Minnesota (12:30 p.m. Pacific time), Doncic will have to wake up and get going during a period of the day when he otherwise might be able to take a nap.
Lakers coach JJ Redick is hoping for the best.
“Hopefully, whatever’s going on, he’s feeling better on Sunday,” Redick said. “I mean, I can’t (diagnose him). I’m not a doctor.”
At least he’s honest.
