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Can Lakers go all way? L.A. is firing on all cylinders at perfect time

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https://twitter.com/LakerTom/status/1894193026089537739

There is nothing better for the NBA when the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James are playing meaningful basketball. Over the Lakers last 18 games, they have been the best team in the NBA.

Jovan Buha, reporter covering the Lakers for The Athletic, recently tweeted the in their last 18 games, they have the best record, the best defensive rating, the eighth best offensive rating, and the third best net rating. Some of their best wins have come against the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors twice.

The combination of James, Austin Reaves, and Luka Doncic is extremely promising, but still has a long way to go. With the way everyone is playing, the Lakers look like they can win it all.

Can the Lakers go all the way?

Los Angeles is playing their best ball at the right time, where they can go all the way. The most promising sign for the Lakers during their league dominating 18-game stretch, is that they have the best defense. A large reason for that, Anthony Davis played in just seven of those 18 games.

Davis is renowned as not just one of the best defenders in the NBA today, but one of the best to ever touch a court. With him getting hurt and trading him for an offensive juggernaut but below average defender like Doncic, the Lakers were supposed to take a hit defensively. With him gone, the Lakers are playing better than they have all season with him out of the lineup.

Most of that boils down to the great coaching from JJ Redick. Since they couldn’t acquire a good center, their only reliable center is Jaxson Hayes. He’s a great hustle player but he also can’t play an entire game, so they run a lot of small ball.

That variation of the lineup usually has LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith, and/or Jarred Vanderbilt as their “big men.” It has been effective because they have the ability to switch and defend multiple positions and smartly double certain bigs.

In their most recent game against the Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic took just seven shots and had six turnovers because of their ability to play as one great unit on defense.

The other side of the ball has been up and down, but that was to be expected because three ball dominant players are figuring out how to play with each other. With Doncic’s offensive explosion against Denver, the Lakers are looking scary.

Doncic and James are capable of putting up 30-point triple-doubles on a nightly basis. Throw in the Austin Reaves averaging 19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists, you get one of the best trios in the NBA. They should be capable of scoring a combined 70 to 80 points a night while also combining close to 20 assists a night as well.

We saw last year where the Dallas Mavericks had the best defensive team and had the best record post All-Star break make it to the Finals. With the way the Lakers are playing now, they are on that same trajectory, but having Doncic and James, they have a great chance to win it all.

LeBron & Luka Lead LA to Top-4 NBA & Top-2 West Power Ranking

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#4 Los Angeles Lakers
Last Week:7↑
Record: 34-21

OffRtg: 114.3 (10) DefRtg: 113.1 (13) NetRtg: +1.2 (12) Pace: 98.7 (22)

The Lakers are 2-2 with Luka Dončić, who, after some early struggles, busted out with a huge performance in a big win in Denver on Saturday.

Three takeaways

Dončić’s third game as a Laker was pretty brutal. He had six turnovers (including three in the first four possessions) and shot just 5-for-18 as L.A. lost to the Hornets on Wednesday. But, after missing their win in Portland the following night, he returned over the weekend and helped the Lakers beat the team (the Nuggets) to whom they had lost 13 of their previous 14 meetings. Denver typically beats teams in the paint, but Saturday came with the Nuggets’ worst paint differential (52-30) of the season, thanks mostly to the Lakers’ ability to defend and get out in transition.

Though they dominated inside on Saturday, the Lakers have seen a huge jump in 3-point rate with Dončić on board. They’ve taken more than 45% of their shots from 3-point range in all four games he’s played, having done so in just 11 of their other 51. They’re 0-5 when they’ve taken more than half of their shots from beyond the arc.

The Lakers have still played just 13 games within the top eight teams in the West, with the other seven teams having all played at least 17. They were 3-8 within the top eight through January, with the three wins (all at home) by a total of just 18 points. But they’re 2-0 this month, with both wins coming on the road and by more than 20.

The Lakers’ win in Denver on Saturday was the start of five straight games within the top eight. Next is Dončić’s first game against the Mavs, and it will be a big week beyond that.

Week 19: vs. DAL, vs. MIN, vs. LAC, vs. LAC

LeBron & Luka Lead LA to Top-4 NBA & Top-2 West Power Ranking

By Leave a Comment

#4 Los Angeles Lakers
Last Week:7↑
Record: 34-21

OffRtg: 114.3 (10) DefRtg: 113.1 (13) NetRtg: +1.2 (12) Pace: 98.7 (22)

The Lakers are 2-2 with Luka Dončić, who, after some early struggles, busted out with a huge performance in a big win in Denver on Saturday.

Three takeaways

Dončić’s third game as a Laker was pretty brutal. He had six turnovers (including three in the first four possessions) and shot just 5-for-18 as L.A. lost to the Hornets on Wednesday. But, after missing their win in Portland the following night, he returned over the weekend and helped the Lakers beat the team (the Nuggets) to whom they had lost 13 of their previous 14 meetings. Denver typically beats teams in the paint, but Saturday came with the Nuggets’ worst paint differential (52-30) of the season, thanks mostly to the Lakers’ ability to defend and get out in transition.

Though they dominated inside on Saturday, the Lakers have seen a huge jump in 3-point rate with Dončić on board. They’ve taken more than 45% of their shots from 3-point range in all four games he’s played, having done so in just 11 of their other 51. They’re 0-5 when they’ve taken more than half of their shots from beyond the arc.

The Lakers have still played just 13 games within the top eight teams in the West, with the other seven teams having all played at least 17. They were 3-8 within the top eight through January, with the three wins (all at home) by a total of just 18 points. But they’re 2-0 this month, with both wins coming on the road and by more than 20.

The Lakers’ win in Denver on Saturday was the start of five straight games within the top eight. Next is Dončić’s first game against the Mavs, and it will be a big week beyond that.

Week 19: vs. DAL, vs. MIN, vs. LAC, vs. LAC