The Los Angeles Lakers are four games above .500 and thoroughly in the hunt for a third consecutive postseason appearance. At the pace they've set, the Lakers are also close to avoiding the Play-In Tournament for the first time since its inception in 2020-21.
Unfortunately, a recent 122-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers exposed the harsh reality of what the Lakers must overcome to enter the ranks of the true contenders.
Los Angeles has been in fine form as of late, going 6-3 over its past nine games. At 18-14 overall, the Lakers are on pace for a 46-36 season—a decline of one win from the 2023-24 regular season, but still a postseason-caliber mark based on the current standings.
With this in mind, the Lakers have every reason to be optimistic about what 2025 could hold, especially after making a quality trade for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
The harsh reality facing the Lakers, however, is that the loss to the Cavaliers struck a familiar chord. It was a disheartening display of erratic perimeter and interior defense, with Jarrett Allen leading the charge with a dominant fourth quarter and Cleveland's perimeter players shooting at will.
Acquiring Finney-Smith should help the perimeter, but the fact remains that the Lakers' two biggest flaws are preventing them from becoming a contender.
Lakers have zero margin for error against contenders
Cleveland buried 18 three-point field goals, shooting 39.1 percent on those attempts. It was yet another example of how poor Los Angeles has been at defending the three-point shot during the 2024-25 regular season.
Los Angeles is currently No. 17 in the NBA in three-point field goals allowed per 100 possessions and No. 20 in opponent three-point field goal percentage.
Furthermore, the Cavaliers converted 11 shots within eight feet during the fourth quarter alone. It was yet another example of how the limitations of the Lakers' starters have put Anthony Davis in an impossible position against teams with high-level bigs or dribble penetrators.
Finney-Smith's arrival should help, as should the long-awaited return of Jarred Vanderbilt from injury, but the issues persist in the meantime.
Davis has been put in a position in which he must be able to defend the perimeter and interior on any given possession. It's certainly admirable that he's capable of doing so, but there's only so much ground that any one player can cover on the defensive end of the floor.
There have been clear signs of improvement from the Lakers in recent weeks, but the loss to the Cavaliers revealed the simple fact that they're playing without any margin for error.
If Finney-Smith and Vanderbilt play up to their potential during the remainder of the 2024-25 season, the Lakers should experience a significant improvement on defense. Even in that scenario, however, they'll need other perimeter players to improve and remain in desperate need of a dependable upgrade down low to play alongside Davis.
There are an abundance of reasons for optimism in Los Angeles, but the loss to Cleveland revealed just how significant the remaining flaws are.