Luka Dončić made his preseason debut on Tuesday night as the Lakers played the Suns. He had 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in just 22 minutes of action and immediately made an impression on one of his new teammates.
Deandre Ayton, who was drafted ahead of Dončić in 2018 and signed with Los Angeles over the summer, saw his first minutes with his new teammate on Wednesday with the two connecting on one lob out of the pick-and-roll, but it was the passes that weren't to him that Ayton was most impressed by.
Deandre Ayton:
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"Luka is different. He's truly a one dimensional player when comes to that pick and roll. It feel like he got eyes in the back of his head. That was really fun seeing how he starts to do his Luka magic" pic.twitter.com/XkHG5K0KAN
"One-in-a-generational player when it comes to that pick-and-roll," Ayton said. "It feel like he got eyes in the back of his head. He was finding guys in the weakside corners and I'm like... I thought the pass was for me, but I'm ducking my head for the pass to get to the corner so that was really fun. Seeing how he starts to do his Luka magic in those situations."
Ayton should have fun catching lobs from Dončić this season as he previously did when he got to play with Chris Paul in Phoenix earlier in his career. The big difference is those passes to the corner out of the play though. Paul is one of the best point guards to ever live, but Dončić has the size and ability to make any pass at any moment, which is why it's a good idea to keep your eyes on him at all times.
Luckily for Ayton, it sounds like that's something he'll enjoy.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Doncic’s Newest Teammate Still Getting Used to His Incredible Passing.