The Los Angeles Lakers always draw more than their share of media coverage, and this past year has been no different. The team's head coaching search dominated the news cycle this summer, while the second-round selection of Bronny James inspired a firestorm of debates over nepotism in sports.
People were definitely talking about the Lakers as the season began, but few if any made any mention of L.A. being able to compete for an NBA title. That ship, it was assumed, had sailed, with most of the fascination surrounding the team centered on whether LeBron would finally show signs of slippage as he neared age 40 and whether JJ Redick would immediately regret giving up his burgeoning podcast career to become the coach of one of the most famous franchises in the world.
We're now past the All-Star break, and the conversation has completely changed. Bronny is an afterthought, LeBron somehow looks even better than ever and Redick has drawn rave reviews as a Coach of the Year candidate. Instead of focusing on the sideshow of it all, people are wondering with total sincerity if the Lakers can make a deep postseason run.
Oh yeah, one more thing — Luka Doncic is now a Laker, a move that is still reverberating around the NBA, both for the expert way Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was able to consummate the deal without anyone around the NBA being wise to it, and for how Dallas Mavericks fans have completely turned on their own GM Nico Harrison for trading a generational superstar for an older player with an extensive injury history.
The Lakers were rolling long before Luka arrived, and after a slow debut as he worked his way back from a calf injury, they're now rolling again with him. Winners of four straight since a stumble out of the post-All-Star gates against the Hornets, L.A. has rolled off wins against the Blazers, Nuggets, Mavericks and Timberwolves, by an average margin of 12 points.
Few teams in the league are playing anywhere near as well as the Lakers, especially, shockingly, on defense, where they've held five straight opponents to 102 points or less. L.A. is tied with the Rockets for the 4-seed, one game back of the Nuggets for the 3-seed, and 1.5 games back of the Grizzlies for the 2-seed. With 25 games to go, could they actually finish second behind the Thunder?
Why the Lakers can grab the 2-seed
There are many reasons to believe that the Lakers have what it takes to rise all the way up to second in the West. We've already gone over the defense, which is not a fluke. JJ Redick has gotten buy-in from every player on the roster about the need to up their defensive intensity with Anthony Davis no longer there to clean up any mistakes. That includes LeBron, who has turned back the clock to look like the defensive disruptor he was years ago.
The late December trade for 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith and the January season debut of defensive stopper Jarred Vanderbilt have been huge, also.
With the exception of a 32-point effort in Denver last week, Luka hasn't even found his groove yet. He's shooting only 36.5 percent from the field and 22.4 percent from three, yet the Lakers have been winning anyway. When he gets fully acclimated, watch out.
The rest of the Lakers have been exceptional. LeBron is averaging 29.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists this month. Austin Reaves has scored 20 or more in nine of his past 11. Rui Hachimura has thrived in a small-ball center role, though Lakers fans are waiting with bated breath in the hopes that the knee strain he suffered last night isn't serious.
The Lakers are 16-4 in their last 20 games, the best record in the NBA, and it's not like they've been beating up on scrubs. Last week's win at Denver was a watershed moment, a sign that, unlike the past two years when Nikola Jokic and company have ended the Lakers' season, this is a different Lakers team.
Why the Lakers can't grab the 2-seed
The Lakers have done extremely well to rise above the second tier of Western Conference teams. They're at least five games ahead of the Clippers, Warriors, Wolves and Mavs, and barring disaster, that's an edge they're unlikely to concede with 25 games to go.
The Lakers will almost surely be a top-five team, but every additional rung on the ladder that they're able to climb will directly benefit them. L.A. shouldn't be scared of anybody with the way they're playing, let's be clear. The Thunder have been so historically good this year, though that it would be much better to get to second or third so as to avoid them before the Western Conference Finals.
What could keep that from happening? At the top of the list is the remaining strength of schedule. The Lakers have beaten good teams lately, but they'll face many more before the regular season is done. Only three teams in the league have a more difficult remaining strength of schedule, though it should be noted that one of them is the Nuggets.
The Lakers have been getting by at center since trading Anthony Davis, but without him, this roster is incomplete. That's why they tried to trade for Mark Williams. Jaxson Hayes has done a good job while playing about four more minutes per game, but if Hachimura misses any time, can he hold up with even more?
Though LeBron has been incredible, there will come a time when he begins to slow down. Maybe it will be 20 years from now — who even knows at this point? He continues to prove that he's a physical marvel unlike anything we've seen before. I certainly wouldn't bet against LeBron being able to keep it up, but at some point, it has to happen, and it should be recognized that he's played 56 or fewer games in four of the past five seasons and 53 already this year (plus playing on the Olympic team this summer).
Where will the Lakers end up?
The best thing that could happen for the Lakers is to get the 2-seed to secure home-court advantage through the first two rounds, with the Grizzlies finishing third and the Nuggets fourth. Memphis doesn't have the playoff pedigree that Denver does, and this would allow the Lakers to avoid their two biggest threats until the third round.
I'm going to predict something close to that comes to pass. The Grizzlies have been overlooked all year, but they're a deep team that is built to succeed in the regular season. They'll grab the 2-seed. The Lakers will be next, as they'll be able to withstand a difficult closing schedule as Luka finds his footing. Denver will take fourth.
The playoffs are going to be fun.