Rival Coach Raises Red Flag on Lakers’ Luka Doncic Plan

TThe Los Angeles Lakers picked up their first win of the season on Friday, taking down the Minnesota Timberwolves 131–122 behind another Luka Doncic masterpiece.

Doncic dropped 49 points, his second straight 40-point outing, leading Los Angeles past the team that eliminated them from last year’s playoffs. It was the Lakers’ first glimpse of balance in the young season — Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura both added 20-plus points, while Deandre Ayton chipped in 15 and eight rebounds.

It was a much-needed lift for a team still adjusting to life without LeBron James, who’s expected to miss around 15 games with a sciatica injury.

How Long Can the Lakers Survive Without LeBron?

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, James is targeting a mid-November return, leaving the Lakers to navigate one of the NBA’s toughest stretches without their leader and the league’s all-time leading scorer.

That leaves Doncic as the sole engine — and so far, he’s been everything Los Angeles hoped for and more. But around the league, there’s growing skepticism about whether this level of dependence can last.

“Luka is going to have to do what he did every night just to give them a chance,” an assistant coach told ESPN.

The Lakers’ offense has lived and died on Doncic’s creation through the first two games. He dropped 43 points in the opener against the Golden State Warriors, nearly posting a triple-double in the process — but outside of Reaves’ 26 points, no other player cracked 15.

Scouts Aren’t Sold on the Supporting Cast

While Doncic has been spectacular, scouts around the league see a troubling trend behind his brilliance.

“Luka is awesome,” one scout said. “And the rest of the team is who we thought they were.”

He added that Reaves “was good until he ran out of gas because he had to do so much,” and admitted, “outside of them I couldn’t tell you who their third-best player was.”

That assessment came after the Lakers’ season-opening loss to the Warriors — a game where Doncic poured in 43 points but received little help beyond Reaves.

It’s a blunt but fair evaluation. The Lakers’ depth has looked inconsistent at best, and without James, it’s unclear where the secondary playmaking and defensive leadership will come from.

“They have a chance because Luka doing that isn’t a one-off performance,” another scout told ESPN. “They need some of these other guys to step up. You look at their roster, and it’s 1-2-3 — and 2 is out — then a huge gap.”

Can the Lakers Hold On in the West?

The Lakers have enough talent to compete, but the margin for error is small. Every night feels like a test of endurance, with Doncic forced to shoulder both the scoring and the playmaking load.

Reaves has taken on a bigger offensive role, and Hachimura’s consistency will be key, but until LeBron returns, this team will live in a fragile balance between brilliance and burnout.

If anyone can keep them afloat, it’s Doncic — but even for a player of his magnitude, 45 points a night isn’t sustainable forever.

The Bigger Picture for the Lakers

The Western Conference won’t wait for Los Angeles to catch up. Every win matters, and every misstep could come back in April.

For now, Doncic is doing everything possible to keep the Lakers above water, but the strain is visible. The weight of expectation, the nightly double teams, and the grind of carrying a roster built for two stars instead of one — it’s all part of the early-season storm.

The Lakers may have found their first win, but they’ve also found their reality: until James is back, Doncic has to be everything, everywhere, all at once.

Falcons’ loss to Dolphins just brought a glaring Zac Robinson issue back to life

Oh no, we suck again!

 

Only the Atlanta Falcons can follow up consecutive victories with back-to-back losses while being held to just 10 points in both contests. The offensive inconsistency has been stark under Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson, and the Week 8 loss to the Dolphins was no different.

The 34-10 defeat marked the Dirty Birds' second-most embarrassing defeat of the season, and the offense enjoyed another dismal performance. Kirk Cousins looked terrible starting in place of Michael Penix Jr., and teams are beginning to adjust to combat Zac Robinson's run-heavy scheme.

Without Penix and Drake London, the offense looked arguably worse than it did in Carolina—and this occurred against another one of the NFL's worst defenses. Fans have started to turn on Robinson and Raheem Morris, and after that disasterclass, it's not particularly hard to see why.

Falcons' dry spell confirms that Zac Robinson has go to go

For a coach that comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree, the 39-year-old hasn't taken enough of those lessons with him to Atlanta. Even without London, there is no excuse for an offense with this much talent to be held to three points until garbage time.

Entering Sunday, the Falcons ranked seventh in the NFL in total yards per game, yet were averaging just 18.8 points per game—good for 28th in the league. The red zone woes and failure to cap off long drives have been a problem for weeks, but now it's becoming impossible to ignore.

His move to the sidelines quickly paid dividends, but has failed to recapture that same effect in Weeks 7 and 8. The Dolphins' vulnerable run defense kept Bijan Robinson in check while holding Atlanta to a season-low 211 total yards—and San Francisco slowed down the run game last week.

Moreover, his decision to run the offense out of the pistol has been met with constant controversy. Penix's sheer arm strength already has him among the best play-action QB's in the NFL, and Robinson's play-calling is limiting his effectiveness in that area.

Against the Phins, Penix was clearly missed, as Cousins could not connect with anyone not named Kyle Pitts. He was held to just 173 passing yards, and Robinson's ineptitude could be the reason the veteran struggled and likely diminished his trade value.

Falcons fans have been known to turn on coordinators quickly, and like a former Atlanta OC in Steve Sarkisian, Robinson could benefit from a transition to the college level as Oklahoma State continues to pursue him. Either way, the second-year OC has found himself on the hot seat after another weak performance.

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