The Los Angeles Lakers have built a captivating team around franchise player Luka Doncic. They’re playing with significantly more energy and intensity on defense than a season ago, and have two legitimate co-stars in LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
When there’s nothing left to do but turn to the superstar to close out a win, however, the Lakers are uniquely qualified to win tight games down the stretch.
Los Angeles is currently 12-4, including a winning record of 4-3 against teams that are .500 or better. It’s won eight of its 12 games by 10 points or less, including a recent 108-106 victory over the Utah Jazz that saw it hold on to a narrow lead over a surging opponent.
Law Murray of The Athletic pointed to a trend that can be directly attributed to Doncic and a developing strength that should have the Lakers battle tested by the playoffs: Clutch performance.
“The Lakers have 12 wins this season. Half of them have come in clutch time, which the NBA defines as any game that is within five points at some point in the last five minutes of regulation.”
With elite execution down the stretch, the Lakers are positioning themselves to make the type of deep postseason run that the Dallas Mavericks twice went on with Doncic.
Lakers are winning close games with Luka Doncic running the show
In addition to winning six games in what the NBA defines as a clutch situation, Los Angeles is 6-0 under said circumstances. It’s the only undefeated team in clutch scenarios, which is reason enough to be intrigued by what they can achieve in the playoffs given their effectiveness late in games.
Considering Los Angeles won many of those games without James, it’s impossible to not at least wonder how much better they can be with him back in the rotation.
Doncic and Reaves have been the driving forces behind the Lakers’ success late in games up to this point in the season. They both rank within the top 15 in the NBA in points per fourth quarter, with Reaves shooting 50.9 percent from the field and Doncic at 47.7 percent.
It’s only been two games, but James is already on pace to lead the NBA in assists per fourth quarter at 3.5—1.1 more than the next-leading player.
With three players who have proven capable of taking over late in games, the Lakers have an advantage over the rest of the NBA. No other team currently has two players ranking in the top 15 in points per fourth quarter, and James is one of the most revered clutch scorers of his era.
It may take time for the Lakers’ star trio to strike the ideal balance late in games, but if they do, they’ll have as many high-level options as any other team in the Association—if not more so.
It’s perhaps the biggest selling point of the star trio Los Angeles has opted to build around. It’s not just that Doncic, James, and Reaves can stuff the stat sheet and score 30-plus points on a regular basis, but that few teams can realistically expect to have three high-level defenders matching up against them at any given moment.
With the personnel to win close encounters and overwhelm opposing defenses with star-caliber talent, the Lakers are developing a significant edge that should rear its head in the playoffs.
