While the Los Angeles Lakers are on a significantly improved run, Luka Doncic is on a rollercoaster. His drop in MVP rankings has gone hand in hand with all the criticism about ‘whining.’ Does that mean he’d not lobby for himself? Absolutely not. A one-game suspension is staring Doncic in the face after an altercation with Ziaire Williams of the Brooklyn Nets. He picked up his second 16th technical foul of the season from that. However, JJ Redick has something to say.

Despite Doncic’s dominant 41-point performance, this triggered suspension poses a significant disciplinary speed bump for the Lakers. The team can’t afford to have him sit out a game (likely their matchup against the Washington Wizards on March 30). It gives the team time to appeal against it. When asked about Doncic’s tech, Redick said, “I’m sure we will appeal it.” He also admitted that he wasn’t sure whether the tech was warranted. “I’m not sure. I didn’t see what happened.”

“He was in my face three times, I just wanted to get out of there, and it’s a double tech, of course,” Doncic said after the game. His frustration was obvious after the referees called it an ‘exaggerated push’ and assessed a technical foul. “What can I say? I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. (The referee) said my push was exaggerated, which (it) was obviously not. I don’t know what else to say.”

Even though the push is debatable, Doncic’s team is clearly backing him. Again. The Lakers successfully appealed the Slovenian’s 16th technical foul from last week’s Orlando Magic matchup, saving him from suspension. And just hours ago, Redick made his intentions clear.

Why the Lakers are backing Luka Doncic, what exactly happened vs Nets

The technical foul was the result of a heated exchange at the 5:12 mark of the third quarter. Luka Doncic got tangled with Nets star Ziaire Williams. The resulting fracas caused a prolonged pause in the game. A video review showed Doncic pushing Williams after he came to celebrate, and Williams retaliating by swiping back at Doncic’s face. The Slovenian’s push got him an offensive foul. But crew chief Sean Wright assessed both a tech.

Doncic had picked up his 16th tech of the season for jawing at Magic’s Goga Bitadze last week. But the NBA rescinded the techs after both teams appealed. It seems unlikely, however, that the Lakers will succeed again. The officials already reviewed the video before assessing it. NBA rules require players to serve a one-game ban after their 16th tech, with subsequent one-game suspensions for every two additional techs. That count resets in the playoffs.

A slight silver lining is that it would give Doncic’s sore hamstring an extra day of rest. He was questionable just hours before the Nets game. This also stirred a familiar discussion about Doncic stopping the game’s flow by constantly arguing with the referees. Many argue that it’s contributed to his decline in the MVP rankings, though his teammate Austin Reaves disagrees.

Doncic has been named the West’s Player of the Week for the last two weeks, scoring at least 30 points in 12 straight games. He is second in 3-pointers made and first with 15 40-point games. But this also clearly shows that while their superstar is averaging nearly 35 points per game, the team has no intention of correcting his constant back-and-forth with the refs.