Just three wins in the last ten, the inconsistent season for the Sacramento Kings continues. Even against their division rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, the performance from Doug Christie’s team remained questionable. Despite this, Dennis Schroder is earning the plaudits, and it’s not for his on-court production.

“Let me tell you why. I finished watching this Kings and Lakers game with an even bigger and greater appreciation for Dennis Schroder than I did before. I’m not joking. This is not sarcastic. I’m dead serious,” said Matt George, reporter for ABC10 News and the host of Locked On Kings (Sacramento) podcast. “Well, it’s because Dennis Schroder was going toe-to-toe, chirping with Luka Doncic.

But Dennis Schroder was going at him, jawing with him at one point, put his shoulder into the chest of Luka, and Luka was knocked back a little bit, and you could tell Luka had a smile on his face. But the reason why I like this so much from Dennis, did it have that big of an impact on the game? No. But how many times over the years have we seen the Sacramento Kings just kind of lie down and let the smack talk happen, or let one of their players get pushed around and nobody said anything or did anything about it?”

In the second quarter, ESPN already gave the Lakers a 99% chance of winning. At that stage, the Purple and Gold outfit was miles ahead with 55-78 on the board. At no point did it feel that the Kings would make a comeback. But according to George, the fighting spirit of Schroder impressed him. Despite the result, the German guard was not ready to take any disrespect and stood up for himself.

The two Europeans got into an altercation, as Schroder and Doncic stood in their rebounding positions as Kings guard Nique Clifford attempted his first free throw. When that free throw was missed, they bumped into each other, and Luka was walking away with a smile. But Schroder, who has faced the Lakers guard before, was not going to be quiet. “I’m gonna beat the sh– out of you,” the Kings guard said as Doncic mocked Dennis Schroder with a chirping gesture.

Another reason why George appreciated the Kings guard was due to the apparent support that Luka gets. “But I would be annoyed as hell watching Luka Doncic play and cry for my team every single night. I got no problem with the Luka smack talk. But don’t be doing the smack talk when you’ve got your mama and papa, the referees behind you giving you every single call you want. I feel sorry for referees who have to deal with that every single game. But at the same time, referees, this is a monster that you created because you continue to give in to it.”

Doncic running to the referees during plays is not new. This habit is why fans even label him alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for baiting the officials. Just like George and fans, one of the Lakers’ legends is even tired of this behavior from the Slovenian superstar.

What Luka Doncic needs to do to help the Lakers

After three back-to-back embarrassing losses, the Lakers were ready to dish out a performance that their head coach demanded. LeBron James added 24 points on 84% shooting from the field, while Luka Doncic scored a game-high 34 points, including 24 in the first half. Despite leading the team and breaking the slump, there is still a lot to desire.

“How many times is he talking to referees, or how many times is his energy just completely focused on the next defensive possession. There’s no time to talk to referees,” said Derek Fisher is tired of watching Luka Doncic consistently complain to the referees on the court. The 5x NBA champion stated that the need for Luka to rush to the officials often creates a 4v5 situation for the Lakers that the opponents exploit easily. Doncic is anyway not known to be a lockdown defender.

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Even against the Rockets on Christmas Day, one could spot Luka asking for a foul when Amen Thompson and Tari Eason were physical with him. So, combining his minimum defensive display with his constant calling of the referees leads to the Lakers being at a disadvantage. Will that change soon? Not possible. That’s why the strongest of the Lakers supporters are eyeing the change.