{"id":1858621,"date":"2026-04-01T04:53:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1858621"},"modified":"2026-04-01T04:53:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:53:54","slug":"lakers-with-50-wins-feel-like-a-different-version-of-the-team-and-better-than-last-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1858621","title":{"rendered":"Lakers, with 50 wins, feel like a different version of the team \u2014 and better than last spring\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Los Angeles Lakers reached 50 wins Tuesday night, a familiar benchmark that carries a very different meaning this time around.<\/p>\n

A 127-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers marked their fourth consecutive win and improved them to 17-5 since the All-Star break, a stretch that included a nine-game winning streak and has them firmly in control of the Western Conference\u2019s No. 3 seed. The Lakers clinched a spot in the playoffs Tuesday after the Orlando Magic beat the Phoenix Suns 115-111.<\/p>\n

How does LeBron James feel about where the Lakers are now compared to this point last year?<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even remember this time last year, it was such a blur,\u201d said James, who is renowned for his photographic memory. \u201cIt was like three different seasons in one. I mean, there was just so much change over last year. So it\u2019s hard for me to think about last year, I don\u2019t even know where I was at that point, or where we were. We did have some \u2014 there\u2019s a lot of change over.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is more for the Lakers to feel better about this spring. A year ago, the Lakers went 18-12 after the All-Star break with an eight-game winning streak. Some thought the Lakers could use that momentum and win a championship. Alas, the Lakers won one playoff game despite holding home-court advantage as the third seed in the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves and didn\u2019t even make it past April.<\/p>\n

This time, the underlying performance feels more sustainable, and it starts with a team that is playing better basketball.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/span>
\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n

After ranking No. 17 in both offensive and defensive efficiency after the All-Star break last season, keeping up a season-long trend of relatively unimpressive big-picture basketball despite the midseason acquisition of Luka Don\u010di\u0107 for Anthony Davis, this year\u2019s Lakers have taken a step forward. Since the break, they ranked No. 6 in offensive efficiency and No. 11 in defensive efficiency entering Tuesday\u2019s games \u2014 a notable improvement for a team that was 23rd in defensive efficiency just weeks ago.<\/p>\n

That defensive jump is not just seeing stars like Anthony Edwards or Jamal Murray having some of their absolute worst<\/a> games ever. Lakers opponents have also gone cold beyond the arc. Since the All-Star break, teams are making 11.1 3s per game while making them at a 32 percent rate. Both figures are the lowest in the league, and a far cry from where they were at the All-Star break, when the Lakers ranked No. 18 in 3s allowed per game (13.4) and No. 21 in opponent 3-point percentage (36.4).<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Chalk it up to this being a make-or-miss league, but this much missing is starting to say something. Monday, the Wizards made only 7 of 35 (20 percent) from 3, the eighth time since the break a Lakers opponent has failed to reach double-digit 3s, and the sixth time a Lakers opponent failed to break 25 percent from 3.<\/p>\n

\n

a.showcase-link-container {
\n display: flex;
\n gap: 20px;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n align-items: center;
\n padding: 20px 0px;
\n border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n text-decoration: none;
\n color: #121212;
\n cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n

.showcase-link {
\n font-family: nyt-franklin;
\n font-size: 14px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 700;
\n line-height: 13.8px;
\n letter-spacing: 1.1px;
\n text-transform: uppercase;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-image {
\n border-radius: 8px;
\n object-fit: cover;
\n width: 200px;
\n height: 150px;
\n margin: 0px;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n width: 120px;
\n height: 120px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inner-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: row;
\n gap: 16px;
\n width: 100%;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-text-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n gap: 20px;
\n justify-content: center;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n gap: 8px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-title {
\n font-family: nyt-cheltenham;
\n font-size: 24px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 500;
\n line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/
\n letter-spacing: 0.01px;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 16px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-excerpt {
\n font-family: nyt-imperial;
\n font-size: 16px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 400;
\n line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/
\n color: #323232;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 4;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 12px;
\n line-height: 121%;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inputs {
\n .showcase-link-input {
\n width: 100%;
\n font-size: 1rem;
\n background-color: white;
\n margin-bottom: 12px;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-indent {
\n margin-left: 25px;
\n }<\/p>\n

option {
\n width: 100%;
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
\n .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {
\n background-color: #121212;
\n color: #f0f0ee;
\n .showcase-link-excerpt {
\n color: #c4c4c0;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

\/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click
\n document.querySelectorAll(‘.showcase-link-image’).forEach((img) => img.removeAttribute(‘onclick’));<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Defending<\/p>\n
\n
\n Defending the 3-point shot: How NBA defenses are doing it, other than just praying\n <\/div>\n
\n The Athletic spoke to more than a dozen NBA coaches and players throughout the season about this phenomenon.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

After Monday\u2019s game, coach JJ Redick offered a more detailed explanation for how the Lakers track their 3-point defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s two ways to sort of measure expected field goal percentage, expected 3-point percentage,\u201d Redick said. \u201cOne way is to take a look at every shot and use basically league averages and you arrive at a number. The other way to do it is to individualize it for each shot, for each player. \u2026 If teams are slightly underperforming whatever the expected is, then that\u2019s probably just some level of (regression) to the mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m not one to simply chalk up opponents missing 3s consistently against a team as \u201cJedi defense\u201d alone<\/p>\n

with that in mind<\/p>\n

Lakers opponents are DFL in 3s made and 3-point % since All-Star break<\/p>\n

So I asked JJ Redick what role the Lakers play in defending 3s pic.twitter.com\/fYQy5RMGFB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Law Murray \ud83d\udd6f\ufe0f (@LawMurrayTheNU) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The other area of improvement has been their ability to take care of the basketball. Before the All-Star break, the Lakers ranked No. 20 in turnovers with 15.1 per game and No. 21 in turnover percentage, with Don\u010di\u0107, Austin Reaves and James all averaging more than 3.0 turnovers per game.\u00a0Since the break, the Lakers rank No. 5 with only 12.7 turnovers per game and are fourth in turnover percentage.<\/p>\n

That shift has allowed the Lakers to weaponize an even more lethal Don\u010di\u0107, who has made a blistering 40.5 percent of his 3s in that span, while players like James (53.7 percent field goals) and Reaves (6.2 free-throw attempts per game) have enough left over to punish teams. The Lakers rank No. 2 in both field goal percentage (50.4) and free-throw attempts (27.0 per game) since the break.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just passing the ball to the guys on our team instead of the other team,\u201d Reaves said. \u201cJust eliminating the dumb ones and making the right play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impact shows up clearly when the Lakers\u2019 primary creators share the floor<\/a>. After uneven results earlier in the season, Don\u010di\u0107, James and Reaves have taken off in March.<\/p>\n

\n

Lakers +\/- this season with Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves sharing the floor (by month)<\/p>\n

October: n\/a (no James)
\nNovember: -10 in 75 min.
\nDecember: -14 in 65 min.
\nJanuary: n\/a (no Reaves)
\nFebruary: +27 in 115 min.
\nMarch: +103 in 270 min. (one game remaining) pic.twitter.com\/gfCCW29YUO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Law Murray \ud83d\udd6f\ufe0f (@LawMurrayTheNU) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Unlike last year, the roster has stayed mostly intact since training camp and helped to eliminate stretches of poor performances.\u00a0The only standard contract player from Week 1 who is not on the team now is Gabe Vincent, whom the Lakers upgraded on by trading Vincent to Atlanta for Luke Kennard.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us have been here besides Luke since the beginning of the season, so all of us have had time to grow and play with each other, be able to hoop with each other the past few months,\u201d said Jaxson Hayes, who was starting at center after the Lakers\u2019 effort to trade Dalton Knecht for Mark Williams was rescinded. So we\u2019ve been able to build good chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Asked Luke Kennard about what he feels he adds to this year\u2019s Lakers playoff push<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s when LeBron James debuted a Luke Kennard theme song pic.twitter.com\/am4D57NQWR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Law Murray \ud83d\udd6f\ufe0f (@LawMurrayTheNU) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The additions of Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia have been meaningful. Ayton\u2019s presence has allowed Hayes to thrive in a backup role; the Lakers wound up canceling centers by the end of the Timberwolves series last year. Smart has served as one of the better connectors in the league, reflected in his team-best plus-minus (plus-238 entering Tuesday). With Smart starting, Rui Hachimura has been able to settle into an effective bench role. LaRavia, meanwhile, has appeared in every game.<\/p>\n

That continuity has played a part in why this version of the Lakers feels more sustainable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like our ceiling is higher with this team,\u201d Redick said Monday. \u201cI feel really good about our team. That doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re going to win a championship. What I\u2019m saying is, the sort of optimized version of our team, we\u2019re like building towards that. And that\u2019s important for this year, not what happened last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

These next few days will offer a clearer picture. The Lakers head to Oklahoma City for their first of two chances to prove they can beat the West\u2019s top team this season. Then they get two days off before a visit to Dallas on Easter.<\/p>\n

For now, the vibes inside the locker room are in a good place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chemistry is high, everyone loves being around each other,\u201d James said. \u201cWe love playing for one another, we love being on the floor with one another. It\u2019s a good, tight-knit group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe postseason is its own season. Gotta carry that into then, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Los Angeles Lakers reached 50 wins Tuesday night, a familiar benchmark that carries a very different meaning this time around. A 127-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers marked their fourth consecutive win and improved them to 17-5 since the All-Star break, a stretch that included a nine-game winning streak and has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1858621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1858621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1858621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1858621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1858621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1858621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1858621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}