The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi watched the Lakers lose their first clutch game of the season and is beginning to wonder if they are as good as their record.
LOS ANGELES — Wins and losses are usually a reliable indicator of how well a team is playing.
In an era obsessed with advanced analytics, lineup data and efficiency ratings, sometimes the simplest approach — checking the scoreboard or the standings — tells you everything you need to know.
That way of thinking is exactly why so many Lakers fans have convinced themselves they’re watching a championship contender this season. And who could blame them?
Entering Wednesday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers owned the third-best record in the Western Conference, the fourth-best mark in the NBA and were a league-best 13-0 in “clutch” games, defined by the NBA as games within five points in the final five minutes.
The problem is that those wins have felt like a mirage.
The Lakers have benefited from one of the league’s easiest schedules through the first half of the season, and as the competition has stiffened, reality has followed. After Friday night’s loss to the 16-21 Milwaukee Bucks, a game in which the Lakers blew a 98-94 lead with 2:38 remaining, they not only lost their first clutch game of the season, but also dropped to fifth in the West.
They now sit just one game ahead of the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns and the play-in tournament.
So as the Lakers approach the midway point of the season next week, the obvious question is this: What exactly are they?
A championship contender or a play-in team?
The answer, inconveniently, is somewhere in between.
The Lakers are not a championship contender as currently constructed. They’re also better than a play-in team when fully healthy.
Since Austin Reaves suffered a calf injury that will sideline him for a month, the Lakers are 4-6 over their last 10 games after opening the season 19-7. Reaves was playing at an All-Star level before going down, and the chemistry he developed with Luka Dončić had some fans already turning the page on the LeBron James era in Los Angeles.
Vibes are contagious.
When a team has them, it’s hard not to get intoxicated by them. You start believing things you probably shouldn’t like the Lakers being legitimate title contenders with Dončić, Reaves and James sharing the floor.
If you were drinking the purple-and-gold Kool-Aid during the season’s first quarter, you’re excused. At 15-4, the Lakers looked like one of the league’s most dangerous teams. Through the first 24 games, as they pushed toward the NBA Cup semifinals, Dončić (35.0 points per game) and Reaves (28.4) were both averaging more than 28 points and ranked among the NBA’s top eight scorers.
Only two teammate duos in league history have averaged at least 28 points per game in a season: Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2000-01, and Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in the early 1960s.
For a moment, Dončić and Reaves looked like the next great Lakers tandem, even after James returned.
The problem? Defense.
The Lakers have been among the league’s worst defensive teams with Dončić, Reaves and James in the starting lineup, particularly when paired with DeAndre Ayton and Rui Hachimura, who is also sidelined with a calf injury.
As the Lakers approach the Feb. 5 trade deadline, they must balance the present with the future. Yes, they want to maximize whatever championship window exists with Dončić, Reaves and James, but there’s no justification for a drastic move if the ceiling this season is a first- or second-round exit.
Especially when consider that they’re 1-4 this season against the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, teams they’re likely to face in the postseason.
A year ago, there were legitimate questions about the Lakers’ future as James turned 40 in his 22nd season and Anthony Davis, now nearing 33 with a history of injury concerns that have continued during his time in Dallas. That uncertainty no longer exists.
Dončić is 26, firmly in his prime and one of the three best players in the league. Reaves is 27 and establishing himself as one of the NBA’s best second options. While Reaves is out now, he will be back next month and Lakers coach JJ Redick talked about him being an extension of the coaching staff during his time away from the court and on the bench.
“He‘s been great, high level," Redick said. "It kind of started with the first calf injury, we spent some time together before the game in my office, in our locker room. He could be talking about golf, could be talking about his recovery. A few times he’s come in there and kind of gone over ATO’s with me and made potential suggestions and tweaks. As much as he tries to do the, ‘I’m a simple Southern kid who only likes golf,’ he’s a basketball nut-job."
The Lakers may have their next great duo for the next decade.
Now they just need to build a roster around them that’s capable of winning championships and not just one that feels good to watch before reality sets in.
Category: General Sports
