The Dallas Mavericks-ification of the Los Angeles Lakers in the most positive aspects continues to flourish as Dorian Finney-Smith and Luka Doncic get settled in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off a brutal East Coast trip to thrive in the familiarity of their home arena, dispatching the Phoenix Suns 107-96.
Luka Doncic carried the Lakers with him as they continue to miss LeBron James, while Austin Reaves is a bonafide third superstar on the team now.
Dorian Finney-Smith’s contribution doesn’t jump out of the box score (10 points, six rebounds, three assists) but he was his usual defensive pest-self that allows the superstars to be superstars.
After the game, he narrated a very interesting Doncic story of noticing something in the Slovenian all the way back in 2018 that the Lakers are witnessing now.
Dorian Finney-Smith on Luka Doncic
Finney-Smith is probably the ideal complimentary player that any contender with its star pairing sorted wants to add to their team.
In the Lakers’ case, it was a case of poetic reunion that they managed to land the duo that saw so much success together and are familiar with each other’s game.
In the wake of Doncic’s 33 points against the Suns, Finney-Smith said that Doncic’s ability to take over a game like a superstar makes him a different person, narrating a story on when he first noticed it.
He said: “[Realized his personality changed on the court] Probably the first time we played one-on-one, I think the Summer League, he didn’t play the summer league so as soon as we got to Dallas, me, him, and coach [Jamahl] Mosley went to the gym and played full-court one-on-one.
“At first, we could barely understand what he was saying but then on the court you understand everything! [laughs]. It’s just his competitive nature that I love.”
Finney-Smith has seen Doncic grow in the NBA
Finney-Smith talks about the summer league in which Doncic didn’t play when he came into the NBA, so the timeline should be the year 2018 when Doncic was drafted.
Finney-Smith had gone undrafted in 2016 but signed with the Mavericks in 2016 so he and Doncic have effectively been teammates for a combined six years or so since Finney-Smith spent time with the Brooklyn Nets before his Lakers trade.
That breeds a lot of confidence and trust in each other, and Finney-Smith would have undoubtedly made the acclimatization process for Doncic easier after a spectacular trade out of nowhere.
It’s fair to say, that split personality and fierce mentality haven’t gone anywhere. The Phoenix Suns were the latest to become victims of it.
The Los Angeles Lakers are now witnessing something special which Finney-Smith called in his very first rodeo with the Doncic.
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