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Dave McMenamin
NEW YORK — On the first anniversary of completing one of the most shocking trades in NBA history to acquire Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers were at the same place when the deal was consummated, visiting Madison Square Garden to play the New York Knicks.
Twelve months after acquiring Doncic, who spent the first 5½ seasons of his career with the Dallas Mavericks, Sunday provided a natural prompt to ask how much closer the Lakers are to a championship.
«I think we’re in a good spot,» Doncic said after finishing with 30 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists in the Lakers’ 112-100 loss to the Knicks. «Obviously, got some work to do. … Today, we obviously missed a lot of good looks, but I think we have a great group.»
LeBron James shared some of his teammate’s optimism.
«I like this group,» said James, who was named an All-Star reserve Sunday. He joins fellow Lakers All-Star Doncic, who was voted as a Western Conference starter earlier this month.
But James also acknowledged the unknown.
«We’ve had some really good moments. We have some not-so-good moments. We want to continue to try to build off of that,» James said. «It’s been tough all season as far as dealing with injuries. Guys in and guys out. Unfortunately, our All-Star 2-guard has been out for a minute, and that’s a big piece of our team. So, it’s kind of hard to see what we can really, truly be.»
James was referring to Austin Reaves, who was not named a reserve by the Western Conference coaches despite averaging a career-best 26.6 points per game.
Reaves missed his 19th game in a row Sunday because of a strained left calf. He was considered a game-time decision against New York, and downgraded to out shortly before tipoff, according to Lakers coach JJ Redick.
«He’s day-to-day, game-to-game, however you want to phrase it,» Redick said. «We’ll hopefully have him for Tuesday [against the Brooklyn Nets], but he’s got to feel 100% confident.»
Reaves, James and Doncic have shared the court in just eight of the Lakers’ 48 games this season.
Despite their injuries, L.A. is 29-19 after its loss to New York. Last season, the Lakers beat the Knicks 128-112 on Feb. 1 to improve to 28-19.
When Doncic arrived in L.A. with Maxi Kleber, for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round pick, he was also sidelined because of a left calf strain. His injury caused him to miss 22 straight games.
«It’s definitely hard with a calf,» Doncic said when asked about Reaves. «I’ve been through that. It’s not an easy injury. So, we just want him to be healthy. If he’s not ready to come back, don’t come back. But obviously, we’d love to have him out there. We can’t wait for his return.»
One year after the Doncic blockbuster, the Lakers will see if the front office pulls off another roster-shaking move before Thursday’s trade deadline.
«We’re right there in the playoff chase in the West,» Redick said. «And I think our guys have been great all season. They’ve really done a nice job of kind of responding to the ups and downs that a season presents. … I think whether you’re a GM, a coach, a player, you’re never going to look at a roster and say, ‘This is a perfect roster, and all the pieces fit perfectly together.’ It’s just, it doesn’t really happen a lot.
«The guys have done a great job over the last month, month and change, of trying to play for each other and play good basketball together.»
