Luka Doncic Set For Preseason Debut Against Phoenix Suns This Week

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Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick has announced that Luka Doncic will make his preseason debut against the Phoenix Suns this week. Doncic missed the Lakers' first two preseason games, which included a loss to the Suns and a win and a loss against the Golden State Warriors. The team plans to manage Doncic's workload carefully, as he recently led Slovenia to the EuroBasket quarter-finals.

Doncic, a five-time NBA All-Star, scored more points than any other player at the EuroBasket tournament, with a total of 243 points and an average of 34.7 points per game. He had a strong debut season for the Lakers in 2024-25 after joining from the Dallas Mavericks in February, averaging 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game.

The Lakers will face Doncic's former team, Dallas Mavericks, after playing against the Suns before returning home to play against the Sacramento Kings. Redick mentioned that Doncic will participate in either the Mavericks or Kings game but will be cautious about his availability against Phoenix.

Redick stated, "I would say there will most likely be a ramp-up from Game 1 to Game 2 in Luka's minutes." He added that discussions are ongoing with Javy and Luka about what makes sense regarding his playing time.

Marcus Smart is set to make his Lakers debut in Phoenix after recovering from Achilles tendinopathy, and Austin Reaves will also participate. The Lakers begin their new NBA season against Golden State next week. However, Redick is still determining his starting lineup as LeBron James is out for another two to three weeks due to sciatica on his right side.

"You want to put your five best players on the court as much as possible," Redick explained. "You also want balance with every lineup." He emphasized considering factors like defense, playmaking, and shooting when deciding lineups.

Redick acknowledged that losing LeBron complicates things slightly for the start of the year. However, he remains optimistic about figuring out the best lineup within a week as they prepare for their upcoming games.