Despite not making it past the first round in three of the four playoffs since winning the NBA Finals in 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers are always in the hunt for two key reasons: LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Davis is entering the end of his prime and James has not finished in the top five in MVP voting since 2020, but the Lakers are 22-18 on the season and just above the dreaded NBA Play-In Tournament.
Despite cries for them to make a trade, fire JJ Redick, or overreact to their current 5-5 stretch, if the Lakers make the playoffs, there is a historic track record of success on the shoulders of James and Davis.
In a power ranking published by The Athletic on Tuesday, the Lakers’ 2-1 week propelled them to 12th in the league, up from 16th in last week’s ranking.
Still, by having James and Davis on the roster, the Lakers can remain afloat.
“The Lakers play uninspiring basketball, as evidenced by head coach JJ Redick and LeBron James commenting on their minuscule margin for error,” wrote Law Murray. “They have won 55 percent of their games but have a bottom-10 point differential despite James and Anthony Davis missing only three games each and playing nearly 35 minutes per game.”
Davis and James aren’t the MVP candidates they once were, but they are both still top-15 players on the planet.
While the Lakers aren’t the frontrunners they once were, they could, in theory, right the ship internally and prepare for a deep playoff run. They have the talent, and a small deadline deal might be enough to give them a boost.
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