Exactly a year ago, the Lakers were in the same spot they will be Sunday, when the Knicks host them again at Madison Square Garden.
They beat the Knicks 128-112 on Feb. 1 last year, a normal regular-season game.
But then a few hours after that game, the Lakers made one of the most shocking trades in NBA history, acquiring Luka Doncic from the Mavericks as part of a three-team deal.
The Mavericks, though they landed Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the draft, have spiralled since giving up their franchise superstar — Anthony Davis, their primary return in the trade, is injured and Nico Harrison, the architect of that deal as general manager, has been fired.
The Lakers, on the other hand, return to MSG a year later with Doncic playing some of the best basketball of his career.
He is averaging a league-high 33.7 points per game along with 8.8 assists and 7.8 rebounds.
He is one of the favorites for MVP, though probably behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He just recorded a triple-double before halftime during the Lakers rout of the Wizards on Friday.
“It’s hard to describe, because most of us can’t fathom being that good,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It’s destructive to the other team when you’re basically coming across halfcourt and having to send a second defender, and we’re playing 4-on-3.”
Doncic will provide by far the toughest test yet to the Knicks defensive resurgence.
During their current five-game winning streak, the Knicks recorded a 92.8 defensive rating — best in the NBA during that stretch.
During the 11 games before that, of which the Knicks lost nine as their season threatened to get away from them, they had a 119.9 defensive rating — third-worst in the league.
The Knicks will likely have Mikal Bridges match up with Doncic, though OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet could get turns on him as well.
“It’s not one guy that’s responsible for stopping another guy,” coach Mike Brown said. “That doesn’t happen in the NBA. You gotta be connected, defensively. It’s basically five guys have to be on a string. When that ball moves, everybody should move. If five guys are guarding the basketball like a string, you’ll usually get pretty good results.”
The Knicks held Portland’s Deni Avdija, who averages 25.5 points per game this year, to just 11 points in their win over the Trail Blazers on Friday.
But Doncic is a completely different level of star.
Fans are paying exorbitant prices for tickets, given it might be LeBron James’ last game at MSG.
Doncic has taken over at the face of the Lakers though.
He, not James or Jalen Brunson, will be the best talent on the court.
