With a 6-1 record, optimism is permeating throughout Los Angeles Lakers Nation, and there are three main areas that have propelled them to the league’s best record
Coming into this 2019-20 NBA season, we knew the Los Angeles Lakers could be a great team, if not a championship team.
However, some thought the Lakers may not get off to a fast start due to a lot of new players, plus a new coaching staff, which means a new offensive and defensive system.
Well, so far, so good.
Our beloved Lakers are 6-1, which is the best record in the league, and they’re riding a six-game winning streak, their longest since 2010-11, the last time they were legit title contenders.
There have been plenty of teams throughout the years who have gotten off to a start like this, only to fall back to earth, if not miss the playoffs altogether.
But the Lakers’ early success seems sustainable. They’ve already beaten three playoff-caliber teams in the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, which has helped them rise to No. 2 on ESPN’s NBA power rankings.
They’ve only played three weak teams so far – the Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets and the Chicago Bulls – and they’ve blown two of those teams out.
Already, the Lakers are presenting the look of a stable team, in the sense that we know what we’ll get out of them on a nightly basis, win or lose. That’s a basic quality that all great teams have.
Yes, they have arguably the best duo in the world in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But an advantage like that is only an advantage if you take advantage of it.
Here are three departments in which the Lakers look strong so far, according to both the stats and the eye test, largely because new head coach Frank Vogel and his staff are taking advantage of the team’s inherent advantages.