Luke Kennard has been thrust into the spotlight with the Lakers' two leading scorers out.
The Los Angeles Lakers are reeling from the loss of both Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic, their two best scorers, in just a matter of days to at least regular season ending injuries, and the growing pains are already showing.
The Lakers have played without Reaves and Doncic before, but that was near the beginning of the season and both the makeup and the chemistry of the team is radically different since then.
Their Sunday loss to the Dallas Mavericks 134-128 was the first game in this new period without either of the Lakers' top two options and it was a look at what the lineup could be the rest of the season and possibly through the early stages of the playoffs.
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) controls the ball as Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) defends during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn ImagesA New Lineup
Namely, both Luke Kennard and Jake LaRavia have been given elevated roles and placed into the starting lineup.
Kennard was brought in at the trade deadline to be am off the bench shooter that the Lakers can call upon to add an extra offensive threat in key situations, but now he's one of the five running the floor.
Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images"Obviously, missing those two guys is a big change and guys needed to step up," Kennard said (via Spectrum SportsNet). "For me, I knew the stints I would run. Play off the ball, on the ball, kind of a mixture of both."
To Kennard's credit, he had a remarkable performance despite the loss, just not in the way the Lakers may have been looking for.
Los Angeles Lakers Luke Kennard (10) runs after the ball against the Detroit Pistons during the first quarter at Little Caesars Arena. David Reginek-Imagn ImagesKennard recorded the first triple-double of his NBA career with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, leading the game in both boards and assists.
An Unusual Game for Kennard
It was definitely an impactful game, but it wasn't the kind of scoring performance that the Lakers were looking for from their new starting point guard.
Kennard shot just 5-17 from the field and 1-5 from three, not the performance that one would expect from the league's statistically best shooter.
He's certainly embraced his new starting role and found a way to impact the game in a big way, but Kennard now has to marry both his new role with the old talents that he was brought in for.
Replacing Doncic and Reaves simply won't be possible, but Kennard is a more reliable option to have in their stead than it may appear.
Finding a rhythm with this now dramatically different team will be a difficult task for the Lakers and they don't have much time to do it, but whatever they end up doing, Kennard will be a big part of it.