Los Angeles Lakers: 3 under-the-radar reasons for their early success

1. Depth

The Clippers and Lakers are the two best teams in the league, so let’s compare the Purple and Gold to the Blue and Red once again.

After the wild 2019 offseason ended, all the experts applauded the Clippers’ tremendous depth. And why not? LA’s other team is the only squad in the NBA that features two legitimate Sixth Man of the Year Award candidates in Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell.

As folks around the country lauded the Blue and Red’s bench, most people ridiculed the Lakers’ second unit. The common theme running through the national media was that the Purple and Gold had LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green, and then a bunch of other guys.

A quarter way through the season, the Lakers have built a 24-3 record behind their incredible depth. Most teams throughout the NBA feature a ten-man rotation, but the Purple and Gold have 12 players who average at least 13 minutes per game.

Lou Williams is an offensive maestro, and when he combines with Montrezl Harrell off the Clippers bench, they form into a devastating pick and roll combo that no backup unit in the league comes close to matching.

The Clippers fantastic backup duo has been incredible on offense. But, Alex Caruso and Dwight Howard have come off the Lakers bench and morphed into a defensive doppelganger of Williams and Harrell. Instead of dominating on offense like Lou and Montrezl, “Bald Mamba” and “Superman” have bullied opposing squads with their stifling D.

Before the season began, we all knew that Lou Williams is the best second unit point guard in the NBA, but Rajon Rondo’s outstanding play thus far has been one of the biggest surprises in Hollywood this year.

Rondo is ranked inside the top-50 in defensive rating for the first time in half a decade, and he’s somehow shooting the ball well from deep, knocking down 47.5 percent of his 3-pointers. When you combine Rondo’s new defensive prowess and his improved outside stroke with his incredible playmaking ability, you have to seriously consider him as the second-best backup PG in the league.

Plus, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has gone from a laughingstock at the beginning of the season to finally utilizing his talent to become a solid 3-and-D player.

Overall the Clippers have the best high-end players on their second unit in the NBA in Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, but the Lakers have the best top-to-bottom depth throughout the association.