The NBA Playoffs are the perfect stage to show off your team's star power. Right now, no organization in the league has more of it than the Los Angeles Lakers.
It is truly difficult to look around the group of teams in this year's postseason and find a duo better than Luka Doncic and LeBron James. It is incredibly fitting that Hollywood's squad is the one whose superstars shine brightest among the competitors invited to the dance.
The NBA stands out in relation to the other major American sports leagues as the one where your stars can dictate the outcome of a contest the most. For the Lakers, this should mean success. For their first-round competition, the Minnesota Timberwolves, there is ample reason to be worried about how Doncic and James can alter their upcoming series.
Luka and LeBron poised to exploit major Timberwolves' weakness
If this series ends up being a tight one, where the games need to be settled in the clutch, that should be a massive advantage towards the Lakers.
According to NBA.com, Los Angeles delivered in the instances that can be classified as 'clutch.' Minnesota did not. The Lakers had a record of 23-16 in clutch games, whereas the Timberwolves were 20-26.
To the surprise of no one, a team with James and Doncic thrived offensively in crunch time. The Lakers ranked seventh when it came to offensive rating (117.3). The Timberwolves were 20th (106.4). The Lakers even had the better defensive rating too, holding a slight edge at 113.5 by comparison to 114.8. For those paying attention, this gives Minnesota a brutal -8.4 net rating in the clutch.
On the End of Season Wrap-Up episode for The Hoop Collective, Tim MacMahon expressed just how much he thought the Lakers have the edge in those instances.
"This is a team that struggles mightily to close games," MacMahon said of the Timberwolves. "If it's a close game down the stretch, the Lakers have a massive advantage, especially with two of the most brilliant basketball minds of all time."
James offered a glimpse of how the 40-year-old superstar can still take over games late when the Lakers matched up against Doncic's former team, the Dallas Mavericks. LeBron delivered 13 fourth quarter points to create an opening for Los Angeles and eventually seal the deal. The four-time champion has been brilliant in the fourth all season, rankings fourth in scoring average and fifth in assists (out of players who played a minimum of 25 games).
Doncic has always thrived in those moments too. Alluding back to the matchup against the Mavericks, everyone was reminded of just how much the Slovenian superstar shines on big stages.
The Lakers should be in good hands with Doncic and James leading the way this postseason. There should be an eerie calm when a game comes down to the wire in this first-round matchup.