Coming off a win against the Toronto Raptors after yet another MVP-level Luka Doncic performance, the Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Miami Heat on Monday night in a key matchup between two teams hoping to compete for a title this season.
The Lakers have seen a strong start to the year, going 5-2 through their first seven games. The Heat, on the other hand, haven’t seen that same early-season success, as despite trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo and making a ton of roster changes, they have gone just 2-4 to begin the year.
But ahead of the Lakers-Heat game on Monday night, both star big man Bam Adebayo and head coach Erik Spoelstra offered some telling quotes about the matchup, including sending a message to Doncic and what they’ll do to stop him amid arguably the best start to a season in his illustrious career.
Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo And Eric Spoelstra Send Strong Message To Lakers Star
Attempting to stop Doncic will be a key priority for Miami, and though it will be tough, both Adebayo and Spoelstra know that’s the best way they can get a win in Los Angeles.
“He creates a defense in a pick-and-roll coverage all to himself. It has to be so unique because of his talents. There’s nothing he hasn’t seen in this league, and he manages every coverage brilliantly,” Adebayo said of Doncic ahead of the Lakers-Heat game.
“We’re just going to try and make him make difficult shots. Obviously, guys do that in this league. For us, just making him see double and think a little bit. Just try to make guys miss.”
“We’re just going to try and make him make difficult shots. Obviously guys do that in this league. For us, just making him see double and think a little bit. Just try to make guys miss”
Doncic is second in shot attempts per game (taking out the injured Anthony Edwards, only trailing rookie Darius Acuff), so even getting him to pass up attempts and instead look to his teammates might be the best way for Miami to get the star off his rhythm and open up the game for the Heat to take advantage.
“He creates a defense in a pick-and-roll coverage all to himself. It has to be so unique because of his talents. There’s nothing he hasn’t seen in this league, and he manages every coverage brilliantly,” Spoelstra said of the team’s game plan against Doncic. “For us, the more disruptive and aggressive we are as a basketball team, the more we can take out whoever we play against; that has to become our identity.”
Miami does have a huge size advantage, as the Lakers don’t have two true defensive bigs to guard Adebayo and Antetokounmpo. However, amid the Heat’s poor start, playing strong enough defense against Doncic will be a tough task on its own. While they might have an advantage in the frontcourt, the Lakers have the advantage in the backcourt, so even if they do stop the Slovenian, shots will open up for Austin Reaves and the other wing players for Los Angeles.
The Lakers are slight favorites over the Heat on Monday night, but amid Doncic’s hot start, stopping him will likely be Miami’s best chance at grabbing a crucial road win after starting the season 0-4.
Luka Doncic’s MVP-Level Start To Season
Through seven games for the Lakers, Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring and remains a top candidate to win the MVP award, as his odds have only been surging as the season has gone along.
Along with his 45 points against the Raptors on Sunday, he dropped 52 against the Utah Jazz while leading his team to its best start in the past six years.
Doncic is now tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the 11th most 50-point games in regular-season history, currently at 10.
“Luka Dončić scored 52 points in his last game, giving him 10 career regular-season games with at least 50 points – tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for 11th in NBA history,” the NBA wrote after his performance against Utah.
Additionally, in the win over Toronto, Doncic put together a stat line never before seen in NBA history.
“Dončić is the first player in NBA history to reach 15+ REB, 5+ AST, 5+ STL, and 5+ 3PM in a game… and he also scored 45 PTS!” the NBA wrote on X.
😮💨 45 PTS 😮💨 15 REB 😮💨 6 AST 😮💨 5 STL 😮💨 8 3PM 😮💨 LAL W
Dončić is the first player in NBA history to reach 15+ REB, 5+ AST, 5+ STL, and 5+ 3PM in a game… and he also scored 45 PTS!
He also joined elite history with his latest showing.
“Luka Dončić (226) becomes the third player in NBA history since 1960 to tally 225+ points through his first six games of a season, joining Michael Jordan (1986) and Wilt Chamberlain (2x),” the NBA also announced.
As a whole, the MVP contender Doncic is averaging 37.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.8 steals on 48.2/43.2/90.2 shooting splits. Even with three previous seasons averaging more than 32 points per game, if he keeps up this scoring pace, it would be the highest of his career, and the fourth-highest in NBA history.
It’s going to be a tough task to continue putting up these numbers for a full year, but with how hot of a start Doncic has gotten off to, it can’t be ruled out.
Los Angeles’ superstar will be on display again during the Lakers-Heat game on Monday, November 2, with tipoff time at 7 pm EST and live on NBA League Pass and local listings.
Miami Heat Send Strong Lakers Luka Doncic Message Amid Rising MVP Odds