With four games left in the 2024-25 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans have to feel pretty good about where they are. Consistency will remain a concern for a unit that is still figuring things out on the fly, but for the most part, there is a cautiously optimistic energy in the air. That all has to do with the ceiling of the Lakers.
Los Angeles have offered plenty of glimpses into what they can do on their best day. One does not have to look further than the statement win on Sunday afternoon against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers pummeled the Thunder in a dominant 126-99 ball game.
While many have identified the Thunder as the team to beat ahead of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics are still the defending champions. If the Lakers do manage to make it out of the Western Conference Playoffs, the Celtics are likely to be the team waiting for them in the NBA Finals. Once again, this is where the cautious optimism enters the picture.
Lakers can compete with Celtics for one key reason
One of the biggest things that made it so difficult to keep up with the Celtics in last year's NBA Playoffs was their pure firepower. Not only would Boston bring a tough brand of defense to contend with, but their relentless offensive attack and 3-point onslaught would wear teams down throughout a game.
The Celtics attempted 40.2 3-pointers a night in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. That was easily the most of any team. The Philadelphia 76ers were second with 35.7 attempts per game. Boston was converting those too, leading the postseason with 14.5 3-point makes each contest.
Their drive-and-kick offense was one that defenses struggled to keep up with. However, there is reason to believe the Lakers have the personnel to match-up well here.
Jason Timpf talked about the Lakers' lineup potential with their five-out unit on an episode of Hoops Tonight. A lot of the things that Boston has previously done to challenge their opponents involves similar elements to that of what Los Angeles can hit them back with.
"That [Dorian Finney-Smith], Rui [Hachimura] group, they can put you into some really difficult positions defensively, trying to guard them in the halfcourt," Timpf said.
The NBA podcaster then discussed how LeBron James and Luka Doncic have not even played their best individual basketball with that group yet. Despite that, the Lakers have been able to create great looks with that lineup.
"There's obviously some problems there that they need to work out right now," Timpf continued. "But they should theoretically be able to, even in the playoff context, generate great shots over and over and over and over again. And that's going to be what makes them so difficult to deal with."
The Lakers offered a preview of what that could look like against the Thunder. The team had no problem creating great looks all night, and the shooters were able to take advantage of that, tying a franchise record with 22 triples made. This was done against the number one defensive unit in the NBA. The Lakers are not going to get that kind of production every single game. However, when the looks are that easy, production will not be hard to find.
feed