If you have been studying the Lakers’ offense microscopically since the team acquired Luka Doncic, if you have looked at the spacing, the movement, the efficiency and the organization rates, there’s only one question you could possibly have after the Lakers’ 125-109 win Monday night against the Spurs.
Is it “butt naked” or “buck naked”?
Nearly a month ago, Dorian Finney-Smith introduced the phrasing into the Lakers’ lexicon after a rare practice, saying either “butt” or “buck” when describing the nudity level Doncic’s new teammates would need to be comfortable with.
No one plays near you when Doncic is on the court, Finney-Smith said, the opposing defense leaving you alone, exposed and uncontested in ways that just don’t happen in the NBA.
Lakers star Luka Doncic scores past Spurs guard Devin Vassell in the first half Monday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m back getting wide-open shots where I feel like I gotta rush when I really don’t have to, I got plenty of time,” he said. “The last couple of years, I ain’t been playing with guys like Luka, so I’ve been getting hard closeouts, but now I got that time. You (???)-naked wide-open.”
That was clear — just the descriptor wasn’t.
“Excuse my language,” he said with a grin. “You wide-open.”
Playing for the fourth time in five days and playing, again, without key starters in Rui Hachimura and LeBron James, the Lakers’ offense operated with the kind of ease that just doesn’t happen in most games, the team creating the kinds of naked opportunities that would make anyone blush.
Lakers guard Dalton Knecht is fouled by San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle as he drives to the basket in the second half Monday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
This was NC-17 levels of offense for the Lakers (42-25) against the Spurs (28-39), things looking easy even if Doncic had a rough shooting night, missing a two-pointer from the paint with his first shot.
The box score numbers were awful, Doncic making only five of 20 from the field (a game salvaged by 10 for 13 from the line). But it hardly mattered, the attention centered on Doncic leading to easy nights for others.
“It’s just fun,” Finney-Smith said Monday. “He’s going to create so many problems for people on the offensive end. So we just got to make it easy for him.”
After the game, Lakers coach JJ Redick noted that the Lakers took 48 threes — 34 of them being uncontested.
The Spurs, the worst defense in the NBA over the last 15 games, certainly played a role, but Doncic is unlocking more scoring opportunities. Until the Doncic trade, the offense always seemed as if it would live in the shadow of the Lakers’ defensive identity.
“Luka obviously causes so much havoc for teams’ defenses that the majority of the time you got to blitz him and then you’re playing four on three,” Austin Reaves said. “So, it’s just a fun brand of basketball and after a long road trip that we were really bad on, it’s good to get home and get back to winning.”
For most of the game Monday, the Lakers looked as though they had unlocked the code, cutting at the right times, flaring to the corners for open shots and filling the right lanes in transition.
Reaves feasted, the Lakers’ leading scorer getting wide-open looks at three. He attempted a career-high 13, making five on his way to a 30-point game. Jordan Goodwin, starting again, hit three of six. Finney-Smith made four of eight and Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht combined to make five of 12 off the bench.
“Even in some of the games where we haven’t necessarily had a great offensive rating, you can kind of attribute that to turnovers and missing shots. I mean, even just the last two games, our rim efficiency was really poor,” Redick said. “So, I think it’s all going to come together where we’re finishing, we’re passing, we’re taking care of the basketball, we’re making threes. But pleased with how we’re able to generate good looks fairly consistently.”
Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes during a timeout against the Spurs on Monday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Reaves, in particular, looked increasingly comfortable with Doncic and vice versa, the two linking up multiple times to create open looks for one another.
“This guy just scored 30 in his fourth game in five days,” Doncic said of Reaves. “That explains everything. He’s an amazing player. For him to go undrafted is unbelievable. And, it’s not easy to go undrafted and play at this level. It’s amazing just to be by his side.”
The Lakers, despite trailing by seven early, mostly controlled the game, save for some sloppiness in the fourth quarter when their energy significantly lagged.
Frustrated with San Antonio’s uptick in physicality as they tried to rally, Jarred Vanderbilt and Spurs wing Jeremy Sochan were ejected after Sochan threw the ball at Vanderbilt and the Lakers forward responded with a shove.
By then, the Lakers had already established the terms, a game where they could get any shot they wanted seemingly whenever they wanted — the defense nowhere to be seen.
After the game in the locker room, when people crowding around him dispersed, Finney-Smith clarified what he said.
“Butt-naked,” he said with a chuckle. “Butt.”
Butt or buck, the Lakers are showing that they can undress a defense. Wednesday, they’ll face a tougher test in a key Western Conference game against the visiting Denver Nuggets.
“Look, I think the team that has [Nikola] Jokic on it is always dangerous,” Doncic said. “And it’s hard to play against him. He knows all the tricks. He’s an amazing basketball player. But that’s fun. That’s fun for us. That’s a challenge for us and it’s fun. We like challenges.”