These stats prove that the Lakers should be favorites heading into the postseason
Heading into the NBA bubble experiment in Orlando, the Los Angeles Lakers are positioned as one of the favorites to win the Larry O’Brien trophy. While this season has looked different than any other, the team that ultimately gets to hoist the trophy will know they certainly deserved every ounce of it, weathering one of the wildest storms in pro sports history.
For the Lakers, a title would mean quite a bit. It would be another notch in LeBron James‘ belt as he strives to make his case as one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball. It would mean a substantial amount for the Los Angeles community as well following the tragic and untimely death of Kobe Bryant earlier this year.
Right now, per Odds Shark, the Lakers are the favorites at +200, with the Bucks trailing at +280, and the Clippers after them at +300.
Here are some clear-cut stats that show exactly why the Lakers should be feared in Orlando.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Clutch win percentage
You can’t win games if you can’t close them, plain and simple. This becomes even more important when the games are at the highest of stakes, particularly in the postseason and late in playoff series.
The Lakers are the fourth-best team in clutch win percentage (winning 66.7 percent of their possible games, going 18-9). Notably, the Bucks rank above them at 78.9 percent, but the Lakers have played eight more games in the clutch.
The Lakers also average 1.0 more points per game than the Bucks in the clutch.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Shooting percentages
The Lakers lead the league in field goal percentage as a team at 48.5 percent. They rank sixth in the league in true shooting percentage at 57.7 percent.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Net rating
With a 112.6 offensive rating and 105.5 defensive rating, the Lakers have the league’s second-best net rating at 7.1.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Blocks per game
The Lakers defense is quite superb, especially at the rim. Anthony Davis, JaVale McGee, and Dwight Howard all have a hand in standing in as the team’s last line of defense, registering 6.8 blocks per game.
Davis leads the team with 2.4 per game (third in the NBA), and Howard McGee both tack on over a block per game themselves.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Steals per game
Further establishing the defensive prowess of the Purple and Gold, the Lakers rank 4th in steals with 8.6 per game. Again, Anthony Davis is huge here, leading the team in steals with 1.5. Following him LeBron James and Danny Green both register 1.2 steals per game.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Points off turnovers
Good defense means nothing if you can’t turn those turnovers into baskets. The Lakers are third in the league in points off turnovers (18.9 per game).
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Fast break points
Somewhat intertwined with points off turnovers, the Lakers average the second-most fast break points with 19.2 per game.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Points in the paint
Back to the dominance of the Lakers bigs — Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, and of course, Anthony Davis — we have to look at points in the paint.
The Lakers score an astonishing 53.2 points in the paint per game which ranks second in the NBA. Nearly 47 percent of their total points come from scores in the paint, a testament to how hard it is to slow down the Lakers bigs.
While this might be harder to sustain as opposing teams gameplan for the Lakers size, to a degree, you can only slow down the overwhelming size (especially in the starting unit) so much.
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Opponent rebounding
Keeping your opponent off the glass is huge. The Lakers rank third — behind the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers — in opponent rebounding (42.3 rebounds per game).
Lakers stats that show they should be feared — Points per game
Finally, the Lakers rank seventh in the league in points per game, fifth among playoff locks. While this in and of itself doesn’t necessarily show why the Lakers need to be feared, everything else on top of this shows just how good the Lakers have been this year.