With the current construction of the Lakers, LeBron James feels they can now lock in for this final stretch of games.
On Saturday, the Lakers played the Denver Nuggets, a team that has ended its season easily the last two years. This time, L.A. had Luka Dončić and obliterated Denver 123-100.
The performance was impressive as Los Angeles never trailed with Luka having his first breakout game as a Laker.
What changed for the Lakers in this game compared to the previous matchup against Denver? Their ability to stop Nikola Jokić. On Saturday, Joker attempted just seven shots, a season-low, and his 12 points were his second-lowest total of the year.
Clearly, holding Joker to just seven shots will not be common, but it was impressive that the Lakers were able to do so when they didn’t have many bigs who could challenge him. After the win, LeBron James discussed how the team’s personnel can still execute the game plan and win when they collectively buy in.
“We have to to win,” James said. “In order for us to be successful, in order for us to win, ultimately, long term, we have to trust our gameplan. We have to trust and be dialed into the attention to detail. We have the personnel now that we can really lock in on a gameplan and really be super strategic about how we want to execute offensively and defensively.”
This was the second time the Lakers played the Nuggets this season, and in the last game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick briefly discussed pregame how lethal Joker is when he has the ball in his hands and is the hub of Denver’s offense.
“I don’t know that there’s a position where it’s advantageous for our team if [Jokic] has the ball… you have your game plan for when he has the ball,” Redick said. “Hopefully, he doesn’t get the ball.”
In that loss, Joker had the ball a lot, scoring 34 points on 12-20 shooting. Saturday’s win was the polar opposite and is another example of how much this team has changed, grown and improved over the course of this season.
On paper, a Lakers team with Jaxson Hayes as your only center should get dominated by Jokic.
However, with guys like Rui Hachimura stepping up and the team collectively focused on denying Joker the ball and eliminating points in the paint, they were able to be the better more organized team.
While this one win against the Nuggets is just a sole victory, it demonstrates the larger positive: the Lakers are rolling, have won eight of their last ten and now are just two games away from the second seed in the West.
If they trust the process and stick to their game plan, they can collectively maximize their potential. And with Luka on the Lakers, that potential feels limitless.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.