A team enjoying the grand luxury of having a three-headed offensive attack with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James was never going to be short of firepower. They are not deprived of confidence either.
The Los Angeles Lakers secured an impressive 112-108 victory on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. They managed to accomplish that big win in spite of a lackluster offensive performance from Reaves.
The All-Star candidate only managed to post 11 points, shooting 3-of-16 from the field, and four assists for the Lakers. Luckily, James' best game of the season was there to supplement his shortcomings. It was something the talented offensive guard was appreciative of.
Reaves said, "That's the beautiful thing about our team, and it's not even just us three. ... When you have an offense that can generate a lot of points, I can play really bad. Not really bad, I'll be a little easier on myself. I didn't play great and we can still get a win."
Lakers offense will only get more unstoppable as the year goes on
Reaves ensured to compliment his teammates beyond LeBron and Luka too, specifically highlighting a perfect shooting night from Deandre Ayton. The bigger point here, though, had to be with the ceiling of the group overall. Simply put, the Lakers are built for buckets.
There are plenty of options to utilize on this roster who can reliably be tasked with delivering offense. That should allow the Lakers to round into form as one of the best units in the league by the end of the season.
As things stand, Los Angeles has already been pretty impressive. The Lakers rank sixth in the NBA with an offensive rating of 118.3. A ton of that has been accomplished before having James back too.
The aspect of this team that was always going to be their selling point as a contender was the offensive end. Doncic, Reaves, and James is a trio that was built to strike fear into the hearts of defenses everywhere.
Eventually, the Lakers will need to put it together on the other end too. Rarely have championships been won without strong balance on both ends, and right now, the defense for Los Angeles could use some work.
The Lakers are in the bottom half of the NBA when it comes to defensive rating. Whether it be switching up the schemes, or going external to solve those problems, that is not sustainable for a team with hopes of contention.
One end of the basketball court is quickly getting figured out and providing hope in abundance. The Lakers still have plenty of season left to ensure both parts are working in their favor before the wins and losses truly starts to matter.