Luka Doncic is getting into the habit of starting hot lately. The Lakers star had a historic first quarter stat line against the Golden State Warriors last time out. And on Sunday, he torched the Toronto Raptors with an otherworldly first half.
Doncic finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists while going 7-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 on 3-pointers to give the Lakers a 66-54 lead at the half.
Doncic is in the zone to start the season. He leads the league in scoring by a wide margin, averaging 36.2 points per game. His last three games have been particularly eye-catching. He dropped a season-high 52 points on the Utah Jazz, 41 against the Portland Trail Blazers, then 37 in the loss to the Warriors.
But despite Doncic's individual scoring brilliance, it's notable that the Lakers went just 1-2 during that span, with back-to-back losses. Finding consistent offense beyond him and Austin Reeves remains an issue the Lakers will need to figure out. Both Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes had strong games with Luka out against the Clippers, but their production off the bench has been inconsistent thus far.
While Doncic's offensive outbursts are fun to watch, it remains to be seen how sustainable they are to the Lakers' long-term success. It's a long NBA campaign, and with Luka's habit of breaking down later in seasons, the Lakers will need to make sure Doncic doesn't end up burning himself out. That means finding ways to share the load better on offense and have other contributors step up.