The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart to their lineup for the first time this preseason when they played the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Through two quarters and change, when their regulars were on the court, they looked pretty good.
Los Angeles led 66-56 at halftime and extended to a 15-point lead early in the third period as it established a strong edge on the boards and in fast-break points. But once its fringe players entered the game, it lost its lead and ended up losing, 113-104. Jared Butler, a little-known Suns guard who averaged nine points a game last season, went off for 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting from the field, to go along with nine assists and seven rebounds.
For the Lakers, three players stood out, and those three players will be vital to their success this season.
Luka Doncic
Doncic was held out of the team’s first three exhibition games as a precaution after he had spent part of the summer representing his native Slovenia in EuroBasket 2025. But on Tuesday, he didn’t look the least bit rusty.
He played 22 minutes and hit seven of his 15 field-goal attempts while going 4-of-8 from 3-point range to score 25 points and added seven rebounds and four assists. He did commit five turnovers, but some of that likely had to do with the team not being cohesive enough at this point in the preseason.
But Doncic looks like he has a decent amount of conditioning already after getting into much better shape during the offseason. He is expected to play in one of the Lakers’ two remaining preseason games this week.
Austin Reaves
Once again, Reaves looked like he’s ready for the regular season to start.
After playing 21 and 23 minutes in his first two preseason contests, he logged 31 minutes on Tuesday. During that time, he made half of his 16 shot attempts and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line, giving him 25 points. He looks poised to raise his production yet again this season, especially with LeBron James expected to be out for the next few weeks due to sciatica.
Deandre Ayton
After last season’s Doncic trade, the Lakers were starving for help at the center position. It looks like they have gone from a famine to a nice meal at a high-level diner in that department.
Ayton had 10 points in 26 minutes against the Suns, but he was most impressive in other areas. He again made an impact on the defensive end with three blocks and two steals, and he gobbled up 13 rebounds, with five of them coming on the offensive glass.