"Needs time to settle" - Lakers fans defend Luka Doncic’s scoring struggle in loss to Hornets

Luka Doncic played his third game for the LA Lakers on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. Doncic continued to struggle with his shot, finishing with just 14 points on 18 shots from the field. He went 1-for-9 from threes, but Lakers fans are preaching patience for their recent superstar acquisition.

Doncic played limited minutes in his first two games for the Lakers versus the Utah Jazz both times. This was due to the fact that he was coming off a calf injury that caused him to miss more than a month. While he is still getting into game shape, he was given 33 minutes in the 100-97 loss to the Hornets.

The Slovenian star did have 11 rebounds and eight assists, so the other facets of his game are intact. He's trying to find his shooting rhythm, which is a hard thing to do after more than a month on the shelf then followed by a one-week break for the All-Star Weekend.

Some fans are already turning their backs on Luka Doncic amid his struggles with the LA Lakers in his first three games. However, the loyal members of the Lakers fanbase defended Doncic and wanted the rest of them to be patient.

"He needs time to settle," a fan tweeted.

"Near triple-double and he still ramping up, gon be scary soon," one fan claimed.

"Not his best shooting night, but still filling up the stat sheet," another fan remarked.

The Lakers accepted the Luka Doncic trade, not to contend for a championship this season, but for the next decade or so. Doncic is still getting his conditioning back, while the current roster is not built around him either.

"Luka doesn't have confidence in a Lakers uniform, YET… but don’t know how long it will take for him to be that killer again on a basketball court & not so passive," a fan wrote.

"Luka almost messed around and got a triple double, when he’s out of shape and doesn’t really know the system yet," one fan quipped.

"He looks out of shape, but it’s too early to give up on a superstar," another fan commented.

Doncic has not hit his prime just yet, so there's plenty of time for the Lakers to surround him with the right roster. He could also learn a thing or two about being in proper condition from LeBron James.

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NBA champion not worried about Luka Doncic after Hornets loss

ESPN's Kendrick Perkins, who won an NBA title in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, joined many LA Lakers fans to support Luka Doncic. Perkins is not worried about Doncic despite his struggles against the Charlotte Hornets.

"It’s going to be another 2-3 weeks before we see the REAL Luka! He has to get into basketball shape and get his legs under him," Perkins tweeted.

As mentioned above, Doncic missed more than a month due to injury, so he has not played regular basketball for a while. Playing two games and then taking a week-long break didn't help either. That said, the coming weeks will likely bring out the best of what the Slovenian star has to offer.