While most of the NBA season is over, the most important stretch is about to begin. The Lakers are currently fifth in the West but only one game back from the No.3 spot. So, they can still gain ground and even homecourt for the playoffs if they go on a run.
But do they have the ability to do so? Lakers head coach JJ Redick certainly thinks so.
“We’ve got an opportunity to, I think, play our best basketball after the All-Star break,” Redick said after Thursday’s practice. “We’ve got a number of indicators
on both sides of the ball that we’re doing some things that are trending in the right direction. And I think it’s coming at a good time as we’re getting fully healthy.”
Entering their first post-All-Star break matchup against the Clippers, the Lakers are fully healthy with no injuires to report. That means they’ll have their three best players, LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves on the floor together once again.
This is something that’s only happaned in 10 games this year. If they can remain healthy and play the rest of the way they can absolute raise this team’s ceiling and stack wins.
However, LA needs more than these three syncing together to maximize their potential. Luckily, Redick sees signs that the Lakers have been improving over the last couple of weeks.
“Defensively, since we went to zone the last 14 games, we’ve been much better,” Redick said. “When we have been in our zone, started possessions in our zone, we’ve been the number one half-court defense. Our transition possessions allowed are going down. I think a lot of that has to do with sprinting back into our zone.
“Offensively for us, we’ve had some of our highest paint touch rate games and we’ve proven that when we touch the paint, we’re elite, and we’ve got to continue to build on that. And I think, we’ve shown that when we pass the ball and we trust each other and we generate not just potential assists, but assists and connect that way that, we win basketball games.”
The implementation of the zone defense has given the Lakers some success.
Over the past 14 games the Lakers have a defensive rating of 112.7, which is 13th in the NBA. That’s a stark improvement for LA, considering that on the season their defensive rating is 116.6, placing them 23rd in the league.
During these stretch of game the Lakers are also averaging 25.9 paint touches, the fourth most in the NBA. They also went 9-5 in these contests and that type of winning should be good enough to rise up in the Western Conference standings.
If the Lakers can take this momentum and their newfound health and combine it for success in their last 28 games, then this season can still be a succesful one for the purple and gold.
Execution will be key and that’ll start with their upcoming contests against the Clippers. From here on out, the year goes from a marathon to a sprint. Hopefully, LA has the legs to finish strong.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
