Mailbag Part I: Luka’s Health and Other Questions

Plus, Dončić’s summer with the national team and his relationship with J.J. Redick

Photo by Gina Ferazzi / Getty Images

NOTE: This is our first mailbag, where I tackle the questions you’ve sent me this week. I’ve split it into two parts: In Part I, I’ll answer questions about Luka’s health and future, and in Part II, I’ll dive into Mavericks-related topics, including how sustainable Naji Marshall’s recent play is and Anthony Davis’ best position.

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It’s a weird week to write about basketball. The Lakers are starting to resemble the mash unit Mavericks, with four of their top six players sidelined in their latest loss to Brooklyn. That game wasn’t just a disappointment as the Lakers dropped to third place in the Western Conference standings; it was a lost opportunity to gain some ground before heading into a brutal stretch of six games in eight days, including three back-to-backs. It was also one of Luka Dončić’s worst performances as a Laker, raising familiar concerns about his health and frequent battles with referees (which I’ll touch on in my answers shortly), and, frankly, one of the worst officiated games I’ve seen in a while.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks keep fighting despite struggling to find enough healthy bodies to avoid forfeiting games (see more on that in Part II).

All that being said, let’s jump into the first part of the mailbag and tackle the questions you sent. Let me know if you like this format. If so, we can make it a regular thing.

Luka concerns

The majority of questions I received in our chat thread and through other messages were about Luka—not a big surprise. His return to play was highly anticipated, and as a Laker, he’s performing under an even bigger spotlight with increased scrutiny. Dončić’s first game against the Mavericks was the most-watched NBA regular season game this season (excluding opening night), only to be topped by his return to Boston, the site of his Finals disappointment, which became the most-watched regular season game in seven years (excluding Christmas Day).

source: X posts by TNT and NBA PR

Dončić has had some flashes, even some impressive performances as a Laker, but now 12 games in, he still seems at least a couple of levels below the peak form we saw from him last season in Dallas—and in every season before that. That’s why questions like the one from reader Wiz, asking whether Dončić can regain that level, are only getting louder.

I’m not sure how to ask you to expound here, and maybe, for many reasons, this is just an off year, but I’ve been genuinely concerned about Luka’s health. He is having a harder time getting around anybody when driving, the pump fakes in the paint instead of going up strong, shots being short (like his legs aren’t in it), coupled with a steady stream of lower limb injuries while logging so many miles on his body playing since he was a teen…it’s worrisome The way the Mavs handled trading Luka was horrible but the reasoning for the trade (concerns about his body breaking down) has some legitimacy when matched with the eye test Guess my question(s) is/are: do you think there’s been any real decline in ability bc of all these injuries? If so, is there a way to course correct (like by not playing for SLO in the summer)? Are people overreacting to these concerns and we shouldn’t be worried?

For starters, questions about longevity and even potential decline are complex. These are topics I’ll dive into in more detail during the offseason, once we’ve seen how the rest of the regular season and playoffs unfold. This has been a weird season for Dončić—one that started with an injury in training camp, followed by the shock of the trade and a move to L.A., all while battling through the longest injury layoff of his career. But while these are legitimate factors, there’s no doubt this has been a down season for Dončić and the least impactful he has looked since his rookie year, both statistically and by the eye test.

Personally, I do have concerns about Dončić’s health and his long-term physical state. And I’m not sure—maybe even skeptical—that there’s a short-term fix for these issues, at least not one that involves a drastic change this season. He did look better for a stretch during the Lakers' eight-game winning streak (ironically, the longest win streak of Dončić’s career), looking like the master manipulator of defenses of old, only to take a couple of new hits and hard falls that led to back problems and another setback in his mobility on the court.

Again, I think Dončić needs a full offseason to systematically work on his body and tackle these concerns, which brings me to the next question from reader Kenneth.

Similar to the question above, now that Luka is a Laker, arguably the biggest franchise in the world and with the NBA trying to expand in Europe (they are planning matches in the UK). Do you think the franchise will ask him not to play for the national team every summer, except maybe only for the Olympics / Olympic qualifying since its in LA in 2028? As he enters prime, his longevity and the commercial interests of the franchise are going to be intertwined. And his reaction - when I posted this on reddit, the response would be he would walk away from the Lakers.