Lakers’ secret weapon may be the swing factor in their playoff ceiling

The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a statement win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Everything was clicking for LA. Luka Doncic had another 40-plus point performance, LA's bigs outplayed Cleveland’s frontcourt, and the ball was moving at an elite level. But the real star of this game was Jake LaRavia, as he made a massive impact on this game for the Lakers.

The first-year Laker has had a very up-and-down season, but since entering the team's starting lineup it's been nothing but ups for the Wake Forest product. In Tuesday's win, he had 14 points, seven rebounds, and one steal while shooting 5-for-5 from the field and leading the game in plus-minus with a plus-23.

LaRavia has always been a high-energy player, and he brought that vibe all game, igniting the Crypto.com Arena crowd with his poster dunk over Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen late in the second quarter.

This energy carried over beyond what appears on the stat sheet. He made second efforts and won plays throughout the entire game.

Jake LaRavia’s hustle is changing the Lakers

One of the standout plays was a LeBron James alley-oop finish off a pass from Austin Reaves early in the third quarter. LeBron James initially stole the ball from James Harden but quickly turned it over. LaRavia then stripped Harden, made a heads-up pass to Reaves, and AR set up the highlight alley-oop for LeBron.

He made a similar winning play earlier, diving for a ball going out of bounds and throwing it off a Cavalier to give the Lakers another offensive possession. In a playoff series where every possession matters, having a player like LaRavia who makes winning plays consistently can swing the series.

All season, the Lakers' coaching staff has never had to worry about LaRavia's effort. That's how he's made a name for himself in the league.

Now that he's making shots consistently and having a positive offensive impact every night, he's become one of the team's biggest weapons.

In the five games LaRavia has filled in for Marcus Smart in the team's starting five, he is fourth on the team in plus-minus, with a plus-42, only behind the team's trio of Luka, LeBron, and Reaves. During this stretch, he's also shooting 76.5 percent from the field and averaging 1.8 steals per game.

To make a deep run this postseason LA is going to need heart, toughness, and players willing to do the little things that doesn't show up in a box score. Over the last several games, JJ Redick and his coaching staff have learned that LaRavia is the secret to achieving that success.