But seriously, how did the Lakers get away with this?

Luka debuts. L.A. stomps.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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The Milkmaid of Bordeaux; Francisco Goya; 1825-27

Luka Doncic made his L.A. Lakers’ debut on Monday. That is a sentence that no person should have ever had to write. But here we are. Luka Doncic made his L.A. Lakers’ debut on Monday. He hasn’t played in an NBA game since Christmas, and he wasn’t actually very good. But he didn’t need to be because the Lakers were hosting the Jazz and because the Lakers do in fact have some other good players.

In the 1970s, after a decade in which they dominated the Western Conference, the Lakers didn’t make the NBA Finals for six straight seasons. Then they drafted Magic Johnson and won the West in nine of the next 12 seasons, claiming five championships along the way.