Landing the biggest pre-deadline blockbuster trade of the century forces some adjustment on the fly. The Los Angeles Lakers have been tasked with figuring out their identity ever since.
The opportunity to acquire a player like Luka Doncic should have never been on the board. The Lakers, wisely, were not going to pass it up. Even in the earlier stages of figuring out their new dynamic, the team has offered plenty of reason to be optimistic about their title hopes.
"We're trying to build something special here," Doncic told the media following the recent road victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
It is safe to say this is the most excited that Lakers fans have been about their team since the 2019-20 championship unit. If this year's group wants to reach the same heights, they will need to lean into the thing that has made them special.
The Lakers have figured things out offensively before the NBA Playoffs
The potential to have an elite offense for a team that has Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves was always going to be there. That was the point made by James on the season debut of the Mind the Game podcast.
"Myself and Luka will have the two best defenders every night. There's not many teams with a third defender, and that third defender has to guard Austin Reaves," LeBron told his podcast partner, Steve Nash.
Lately, the Lakers have certainly brought James' vision to life. The formula may not be perfect across the board, but the offense has helped cover up a lot of the other issues.
"They're going to have defensive problems, they're gonna have rebounding problems, but if [Gabe] Vincent is hitting his threes, and [Dorian] Finney-Smith does some of the same, they can just be the best offense," Danny Parkins said on The Kevin O'Connor Show.
The Lakers had a stretch in which it appeared that elite defense could be the formula for success in Los Angeles. JJ Redick's group proved capable of holding the top defensive rating in the league for a significant stretch of the post-Doncic trade era. That has now flipped on its head.
During the last 10 games of this campaign, the Lakers have dipped back down to middle of the pack defensively. Their rating of 115.3 ranks 15th in the NBA on that end of the court. However, the offense has skyrocketed in that same stretch. The Lakers have held the best offensive rating (123.4) in the league.
Los Angeles has also led the NBA in true shooting percentage over that span, ranking first with a mark of 63.2. What is impressive about all of this is that James is not even in playoff mode yet.
The four-time champion has relatively modest offensive averages over the team's last 10 games. James has posted 21.9 points and 6.9 assists per game, with shooting splits of 49-34-88. Everyone knows the NBA's all-time leading scorer is capable of so much more.
However, perhaps the fantastic thing about this team is that James does not have to carry that kind of offensive burden. Doncic has averaged 29.9 points and 7.0 assists per game over their last 10 games, shooting 49-41-81. Reaves has delivered 23.6 points and 4.7 assists per game, with healthy splits of 52-46-89.
The important thing for this Lakers offense right now is the quality of looks being produced. Los Angeles is creating great shots all over the court, and especially from beyond the arc, where they have shot a sizzling 41.3 percent.
The Lakers are figuring out what Luka ball looks like right before the NBA Playoffs. That should excite everyone who's invested in seeing this team thrive in the postseason.
