Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James has the utmost confidence in the team and their ceiling for the rest of the season.
After the Lakers’ blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs, 136-108, James said he and the team still believe they could make a deep playoff run as constructed and when healthy.
“Our team believes that we can be contenders and make a deep playoff run, ” James said. “We all believe that. It’s just gonna come down to playing hard and playing smart and winning games.”
The Lakers currently sit with a 32-21 record, which is good for the fifth seed in the stacked Western Conference. While their record indicated they are a contender, advanced stats indicate that is far from the case.
Los Angeles has a point differential of -0.3, the worst among teams with a record above .500. On top of that, the Lakers’ ratings on either side of the ball are mediocre at best. The Lakers have an offensive rating of 116.1, which ranks 11th in the league. As for their defense, the Lakers rank 23rd in the league with a defensive rating of 116.8.
L.A.’s net rating also ranks in the bottom half of the league, ranking 18th at -0.7.
Bottom-tier teams in the league, like the Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Charlotte Hornets, have better defensive ratings than L.A. does.
Do the Lakers Have Enough to be a Championship Team?
Most championship teams rank at the top or near the top in all three of offensive, defensive and net rating. The Lakers are outside of the top 10 in all three of those categories this season.
While James has confidence in his team, the Lakers may have been telling us something else. The Lakers decided to holdback on a big trade during last week’s deadline. The only move they made was trading away Gabe Vincent for Luke Kennard.
The Lakers improved their shooting by adding Kennard; however, they failed to address other needs, such as acquiring a perimeter defender or upgrading their frontcourt with another big man.
Nonetheless, the Lakers have one of the best players in the world in Luka Doncic. Add a star in Austin Reaves and LeBron James, who is still playing at an elite level, and L.A. will certainly be a tough out. However, health has been an issue for L.A., as its big three have played only eight games together this season.