Lakers Are Now 2nd Seed In The West

[tamaraw08]

I don't think Lakers will remain the 2nd seed because they have a brutal remaining schedule. Their remaining SOS is 3rd hardest but they have a bunch of back to backs which makes their remaining schedule the hardest imo.

Yeah but I will suspect Luka will be shooting much better as well. Lakers are still winning every game without him getting into a groove yet. Rui and Reaves should be back soon as well for those matchups.

I really think their main priority should be to keep everyone healthy come playoff time and I'm concern about Lebron still having a higher USG rate because Reaves has been sitting out games.
It's such a blessing that Knecht and Gabe Vincent had a really good shooting night last Sunday and they 1 or both would need to keep contributing if you want to keep Lebron fresher for the playoffs.

[Edrees]

People say that Luka hasn't been the reason for the Laker's turnaround. I'll counter that with him on the team, they think they can beat anyone! Morale booster for sure.

That's certiantly a big factor. Everyone has been hustling harder on defense since the trade.

[LakerPhan]

Here's something I have been seeing, since Luka has arrived...

Luka and Lebron are VERY similar players, both great play-makers and pretty much unstoppable scorers! They often demand double-team them and with their passing abilities, it creates more opportunities for the other players. This is why, we have not seen a drop-off in productivity with Rui and Reaves out!

The games pretty much flow like this:
1st Quarter: With Luka and LeBron on the court, Lakers get out to big leads.
2nd Quarter: When Lebron or Luka take their rests, the other is still on the floor providing a strong leadership.
3rd Quarter: With Luka and LeBron back to start the second half, Lakers keep the pressure on.
4th Quarter: Again from the end of the 3rd to the near end of the 4th when one is rested the other leads.
4th Quarter: At the end of the 4th BOTH are on the floor and they fight-off any last minute comeback attempts.

The biggest difference we are seeing is that when LeBron was resting Davis could NOT lead the team...!

[Beethoven]

Oh yeah, the offense was stale and not organic with AD on there. He definitely was not a leader. A leader doesnt require Lebron asking you to take over as leader for over 4 years