The Los Angeles Lakers' 2025-26 season has felt significantly more negative than their current place in the Western Conference standings suggests.
Sure, some of the ugly narratives surrounding the Lakers are legitimate, but with a 40-25 record entering Thursday (tied for third in the West), the Lakers have low-key had enough success this year to poke holes in other criticisms.
This is precisely the vibe that The Ringer's Zach Lowe was leaning into when he argued this week that Luka Doncic and Co. deserve more credit than the hater-inclined media has given them this year.
The Lakers' defensive concerns aren't as disastrous as people think
During a new episode of The Zach Lowe Show with special guest John Hollinger, Lowe asserted that the Lakers' defensive shortcomings are overblown.
While Lowe admitted that he enters every Laker game-watch wondering how LA is going to overcome its lack of athleticism defensively, Lowe bluntly pointed out that the Lakers' trio of Luka, Austin Reaves, and Luke Kennard has been "surviving on defense."
"And honestly, I think it's time to give the Lakers a little credit because there's just so much focus on Luka's antics, on the LeBron-Luka fit, which has not been very good," Lowe continued. "And yet here they are. They just don't leave the (playoff) conversation."
The Lakers still haven't played their best basketball in 2025-26
There's a phenomenon in sports that allows a team to feel great about itself even if it is playing poorly: If this poor play coincides with a manageable point deficit, the situation almost serves to motivate the team in question. It's the whole, "We're playing absolutely terrible and only down five at halftime!" deal.
That's a microcosm of the Lakers' season so far. This team hasn't looked like a contender at virtually any point this season, and there've been plenty of nights when they don't even look like a playoff team.
The Lakers' defense, despite having a low-ish ceiling due to personnel, hasn't maximized its floor until recently, and their offensive talent hasn't ever meshed, period. In sum, the Lakers have been closer to a disorganized mess in 2025-26 than they've been to a "well-oiled machine," as the saying goes.
And yet, here they are, only bested by the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in the West standings.
Flipping the switch in March is not a recommendable strategy when it comes to winning a championship. Teams that have been building robust habits for months will have an edge over the Lakers in a playoff series, and, almost certainly, LA will get ousted before the Conference Finals this postseason.
But ... if there was a team in the West whose talent could miraculously meld at the perfect time and throw the regular season struggles to the wind, it would be these Lakers. Time will tell, and it's no mystery that Luka saves his strongest stuff for the playoffs.