There is just a different feeling to the Los Angeles Lakers of late, isn't there?
The fans know it. The media are coming around to the idea. Most importantly, the players in that locker room are noticing it. Luka Doncic just outright said it after the Lakers secured another exciting 124-116 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
"It's [an] amazing feeling, honestly. I love winning. Everything is better when you're winning. We have great chemistry, we have [a] great team. This is just the start of something beautiful."
The part about the chemistry should be the tidbit that sparks discussion and curiosity. In the first half of the year, there was evidently a lot of work to be done in that department. The Lakers have turned the corner.
Roles appear to be more defined in Los Angeles, players are buying in, and the defense is playing how it should for a championship contender. It's tough to ignore and write off a team peaking at the right time. The Lakers are that unit right now.
Lakers' newfound chemistry is starting to mirror the 2024 Mavericks
The 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks went all the way to the NBA Finals. They were also a group who largely put it together in the second half of the season.
For that team, players got back healthy and the Mavericks were able to figure out what a winning formula truly looked like after the All-Star break. They closed out the season going 18-9 before beating three 50-win teams in their dominant march through the Western Conference Playoffs.
It may still be worth having caution in raising optimism levels to that level here. However, there are similarities that can be drawn between the two groups.
The Lakers also struggled to stay healthy in the first half, leading to a lack of defined pecking order and a constantly evolving gameplan. Los Angeles has still dealt with injuries in the second half, but they have been far less severe.
In the process of getting healthy, the Lakers found what works. They are 11-4 after the All-Star break, firmly in the midst of an eerily similar second-half surge.
It's not exactly a one-to-one for both sides and the roster construction certainly looks different, but it is hard not to draw those parallels when Doncic was the captain of both those ships. With 13 games remaining, the postseason is well within sight and everyone is hitting their stride.
"We've been very connected for the last couple of weeks," JJ Redick said.
The Lakers have two big games left on their schedule that can help them take a real temperature of the room. Los Angeles will play the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2 and April 7 in the close lead-up to the postseason. Win those two and imaginations will be running wild about the ceiling of this team.