There's a compelling argument to be made that the NBA season should be shortened. 82 games is a lot, and with the unprecedented levels of athleticism on display on a nightly basis, it naturally follows that injuries are going to be a major factor over such a long season.
That all makes sense, but if there's one argument to be made to keep the schedule the way it is, it's that the length of time from Opening Night in October until the end of the regular season in April gives teams time to evolve and find their identity.
No team is a better proof of concept for this than the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers began the season as an afterthought. They had two stars that were another year older, lackluster depth, and a rookie head coach. Nobody expected much of anything from them.
Since the season began, they've been on a pretty steady upward trajectory. They got off to a surprising 3-0 start against three playoff-level teams. After a few bumps in the road, they reeled off a six-game winning streak. Once they traded D'Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith in December, they really took off, and they haven't looked back since.
Jarred Vanderbilt came back in January to provide an extra level of defensive intensity. LeBron James raised his game on both ends of the floor. Austin Reaves established himself as a premier playmaker. JJ Redick showed that he wasn't in over his head tactically against more seasoned coaches.
All of these developments made the Lakers, at the very least, an intriguing playoff contender. After pulling off the trade of the century for Luka Dončić in early February, though, Lakers fans are back to a way of thinking that they've become accustomed to over the last few decades — championship or bust.
It's incredible that after 61 games, the Lakers could have gone from just another slightly-above-average team to one of the few true contenders, but it's true. L.A. is 20-4 since January 15th, and that prolonged run has vaulted them all the way up to the 2-seed in the West. They've leapfrogged every team but the 51-11 Thunder to get there, including the Clippers, Rockets, Grizzlies and Nuggets.
Jumping Denver seems especially noteworthy, especially in light of L.A.'s head-to-head 23-point road win against Nikola Jokic and company two weeks ago. The Nuggets have been the Lakers' archnemesis in recent times, knocking them out of the playoffs each of the past two years, so beating them so handily on the road seems representative of how much the Lakers have improved.
Keeping the 2-seed would be an unbelievable accomplishment for the Lakers, and it would give them home court advantage in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. So what do they need to do to finish strong and make sure they lock it down? Let's look at three keys to keeping the 2-seed.
Continue their winning ways on the road
The Lakers stayed above water early in the season by holding serve at home, but road wins were few and far between. L.A. only seemed to be able to beat the league's worst teams on the road through the first 42 games, with the Christmas Day win over the Warriors standing as the only win away from home over a team that currently ranks in the top six in either conference.
In the 19 games since, the Lakers have four such wins, against the Warriors again, the Knicks, the Clippers and the Nuggets. That Nuggets win gave the Lakers a winning road record for the first time all season.
They'll need to keep it up because 12 of the final 21 games are on the road, and many are against quality teams. The Lakers will embark on a four-game road trip beginning on Saturday, and that Celtics-Nets-Bucks-Nuggets gauntlet is going to tell us a lot about just how strong this team really is.
Likewise, two road games in three days against the Thunder in the final eight days of the regular season have the potential to either be a reality check, or to send the hype train into overdrive right before the playoffs.
If the 2-seed is a realistic goal, and it should be because the Lakers actually hold it right now, they're going to need to be road warriors.
Keep getting contributions from the bench
Wednesday night's win over the Knicks was a blueprint for what the Lakers could be. The Knicks were desperate for a win against a top team, as they entered the game winless against the Thunder, Cavs, Celtics and Lakers. For a while, it looked like they might get it, but some late-game lockdown team defense, combined with 63 points from Luka and LeBron, were just enough to win it in overtime.
For most teams, getting over 55 percent of your points from two guys usually means that the rest of the team didn't show up, but the Lakers would not have won that game without their bench guys. Gabe Vincent was a perfect 4-4 from three, and three of those came in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter to turn the game from an eight-point Lakers deficit into a three-point Lakers lead.
Dalton Knecht chipped in 11 points of is own, and the Lakers always reach another level whenever he's able to put up double figures. Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt don't often stuff the stat sheet, but their defense is invaluable. Finney-Smith's ability to knock down a corner three is such a luxury.
Jaxson Hayes also needs to be mentioned because his ability as a lob threat on offense and as a rim protector on defense (he had two huge blocks against the Knicks) has really softened the blow of losing Anthony Davis. Instead of a black hole at center, which is what most people expected without AD, he's been an additive, complementary piece.
Austin Reaves wasn't his best in his first game back from a calf strain, but that was to be expected. He'll be fine. Luka and LeBron are getting better together every single day. If the role players keep contributing like this, the Lakers are going to win a lot more games.
Take care of business against the worst remaining teams on their schedule
The Lakers' remaining schedule is pretty brutal. In fact, it ranks as the third-most difficult in the NBA. We mentioned some of the nasty road games that still remain, but the home schedule isn't much easier, as the Nuggets, Bucks, Rockets, Warriors and Rockets again will visit Crypto.com Arena before the regular season ends.
Those are the games that will show what the Lakers' playoff ceiling is, but when it comes to locking down the 2-seed, the best thing the Lakers can do is take care of business against the bottom-feeding teams they still get to play.
The Lakers are 18-3 in their last 21, but somehow, their three losses have come to the 76ers, the Jazz, and the Hornets. Those are three of the major players in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
There aren't many lottery-bound teams remaining on the schedule, but the Lakers can't afford to slip up against the few that do. The Nets are undermanned. The Suns are imploding and can't wait to end the season. The Spurs are without Victor Wembanyama.
The Bulls are feisty, but the Lakers are far superior. They play them twice. The Magic have fallen off a cliff without Jalen Suggs, and he was recently ruled out for the year. A home game against the Pelicans shouldn't be a problem.
Win all seven of those games, and that puts the Lakers at 47 wins with 14 games to go. Even an ugly 4-10 record in those would put them at 51-31. The Nuggets also have a difficult schedule and the Grizzlies are 2.5 back, so that might be enough to get it done.