3 teams who just passed the Lakers in title odds after Mark Williams trade falls through

According to Shams Charania on February 6, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets agreed to a deal that sent Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and a 2031 unprotected first-round pick to the Hornets for center Mark Williams. Due to a failed physical by Williams, the trade was rescinded. 

The big reason the Lakers wanted to do this trade in the first place was because they lost their only true big man in Anthony Davis. Of course, getting Luka Doncic in return is a great trade-off but they lose out on adding a great young center. Williams was averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game.

The Lakers pairing Doncic with LeBron James is deadly. With Austin Reaves playing the best of his career and what Williams could have been, the Lakers may have had a shot to get out of the west. No relying on Jaxson Hayes to be the anchor, not so much.

How many teams surpassed the Lakers chances of winning the title since the Mark Williams trade went through?

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Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have been one of the biggest surprises this season. After going 41-41 last season, they're currently standing at a record of 32-20 and the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Just eleven days ago, they were the two seed, but a six-game losing streak has caused them to fall in the standings.

Over the last few years, the Rockets have been a tough matchup for the Lakers. The Lakers have gone 4-3 in their last three matchups, but now the Lakers don't have a player to guard Alperen Sengun. Sengun has been a major difference maker for the Rockets this season and there aren't many players who could slow him down.

Luckily, having players like Doncic and James could just give the Lakers an upper hand a potential seven game series but the Rockets are also way better defensively than the Lakers. The Rockets have the fourth best defensive rating in the NBA while the Lakers have the 16th best. Which means that when the either of these teams go into an offensive lull, the Rockets will keep a game close with their defense while the Lakers can't.

If the playoffs were to start right now, the Lakers would end up playing the Rockets in the first round. The Rockets would have an advantage because their chemistry and defense are a lot better. Would it be wise to bet against Doncic and James in this series, no, but not having a rim protector will cause a lot of problems.

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks is the reason the Lakers had to do the Mark Williams trade to begin with, because they gave them Anthony Davis to get Doncic. Williams was supposed to be mitigate the loss of what Davis brought defensively and on the glass.

Now that the Williams trade fell through, if these two teams were to meet in the playoffs, the Mavericks would be too big for the Lakers. Having Davis back in his natural position as a power forward, next to Derrick Lively would make it almost impossible for any team to score in the paint, let alone the Lakers.

It would have been a tall task to compete with the Mavericks bigs with Williams but without him, the Lakers have no chance. By losing their defensive anchor, Davis would have a feast playing in the paint. In his first game with Dallas, he had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks against the Rockets.

With the Williams trade falling through, the Lakers have to play flawless basketball in order to win a championship. Luckily, they don't have to climb the standings like Dallas, but at least Dallas could win almost any potential matchup they get while it'll be much harder for the Lakers to accomplish that.

Denver Nuggets

When the Doncic and Williams trade happened, Los Angeles had given them a chance to compete with the Denver Nuggets. Denver has had the Lakers numbers for the last few seasons because they did not have anyone who could stop Nikola Jokic and LeBron James was no longer at the level. By trading for Doncic, you'd get someone who is close to Jokic's level of play.

Then by obtaining Williams, you'd at least have a body to put on Jokic. By no means would he be able to slow down Jokic, but Williams would have much better success than Jaxson Hayes. Jokic and Jamal Murray had a feast playing against one of the best defensive players in Anthony Davis and eliminating any remains of that is going to make them almost impossible to stop.

Jokic is having the best statistical season the league has ever seen and is far and away the most impactful player in the game. The Nuggets had questions on whether they're at the level they were when they won the championship in 2023. Their depth isn't the same, Murray is having a down year and are a worse defensive team than the Lakers.

If the season were to end today, the only way the Lakers and Nuggets would meet would be in the conference finals. With the west being so nip and tuck, anything could happen where they could meet in the first round again. The only shot the Lakers have to beat Denver or get out of the west, is to have Doncic, James, and Reaves play flawless, and hope the opponents have off nights.