3rd Quarter

Record: 40-22

Division: 1st (Pacific)

Conference: 2nd (Western)

Overall Grade: A

The Lakers have gone 17-4 since the midway point - 3rd best in the league - and notched quality wins against the likes of the , Nuggets, , Pacers and Timberwolves. That's one of the biggest changes: they're beating good teams, improving their overall record against .500+ teams to 19-12. They're also still handling their business - going 21-10 overall against sub .500 teams.

Offense

After a slight dip, the Lakers offense is back to where it was at the beginning of the season. Overall, they rank 10th in offensive rating. While their overall PPG average only ranks 18th for the season (112.9), it has improved significantly - 116.3 over the last 21 games. The Lakers tallied the second highest FG% in the league during this stretch, despite being middle-of-the-road in 3p% (35.9% or 12th overall). The Lakers will need to improve in this area if they are to have an extended playoff run.

Defense

Defense. Defense. Had to say that a second and third time, because that's what has keyed the Lakers' resurgence. The have a league-best 108.1 defensive rating over their last 21. They did it by locking down the paint - allowing 45/game...third lowest in the league. Unfortunately, they were among the league's worst in transition, allowing a 24th ranked 16.4 points per game. This could be an issue against a young athletic team like the Thunder.

Bright Spots

• Luka Doncic - if you had told me Dallas would trade Luka this season, I would've said, "no way...what would they get?". If you then told me what they would get I would have laughed in your face. And then I would have thrown in a snarky comment about going to Dallas and slapping the GM in the face for making that deal...and doing it as a Lakers fan. No disrespect to Anthony Davis and Max Christie, but this trade just feels VERY one-sided. It's the kind of thing that makes people hate the Lakers (and their tears taste sweet!). I'm not convinced he'll make them into contenders this season, but one or two off-season moves and they are legit favorites in the West.
• JJ Reddick has emerged as a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate. The Lakers' defensive turnaround can largely be attributed to him, as it occurred while Anthony Davis was hurt and continued unabated. Getting Jared Vanderbilt back was a big factor, but an even bigger one is that guys bought in on his defensive schemes and have been giving the kind of effort you need to be successful. Like pops always said, "you don't have to be a good defender to play good defense".
• Lebron James - injury notwithstanding - had an incredible stretch, averaging 27.4 ppg on 52.5% from the field (35.9% from 3pt range), 9.6 reb and 7.7 assists . More importantly, we saw a significant effort from him on the defensive end. It doesn't necessarily appear in the box scores, but Lebron moved his feet and hands, rotated and got back on transition (as much as he could at 40). I don't know how much of it was Reddick and how much was Lebron, but when guys see the star sell-out on defense, they want to do the same.
• Dorian Finney Smith, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Gabe Vincent - the Lakers role players have played their roles to near-perfection, with each posting a positive net rating over the last 21 games. Rui, DFS and Vincent are all shooting 35% or better from beyond the arc. Hayes shot 77% from the field and averaged 5.2 reb and 1.3 blocks in only 22mpg. This is all Reddick - good coaches get the most out of the talent they have to work with.

What's Up Next

• Top of the list is the Lebron James injury, currently projected to keep him out 1-2 weeks. I say shut him down until he says he's good to go.
• The Lakers have a REAL tough schedule to finish the season - 13 of the remaining 20 are against teams with something to play for. Some will get knocked out. Others will have their seeding secured. The Lakers are currently tied for 2nd in the conference with Denver but are only 2 games away from the 5th seed. I'd suggest seeding is less important than health at this point - sit guys who need it and let the dice fall where they may.
• Rui will probably is expected to miss another week. Hayes shouldn't miss much time. Doncic is probably just experiencing spasms after missing so much time. He's officially listed as day-to-day