One ESPN personality has some high hopes for the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the final stretch run of the NBA season.
The Los Angeles Lakers made the bold move to (essentially) swap Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic at the NBA Trade Deadline. While there was plenty of uncertainty about how Luka and LeBron James would mesh, it does seem as if the Lakers will eventually figure things out. Talent does generally win out in the NBA. In the lone game Luka played for the Lakers, they looked mightily impressive. Albeit, it was against the Utah Jazz but it certainly was a strong first step in the right direction.
In a wide-open Western Conference, the Lakers may be playing their way into a team that could no longer be ignored. Especially considering that the only truly dominating team this season has been the Oklahoma City Thunder. In a potential series with an inexperienced Thunder team, there are already those who may believe the Lakers could theoretically have the upper hand with their two superstars.
In the words of ESPN personality Shannon Sharpe, he believes that if the Lakers and Thunder were to match up in the Western Conference Finals, Los Angeles would be the team to prevail. The reasoning behind this thought revolves around the greatness of LeBron and Luka, and with how the Lakers have been playing of late.
Are the Los Angeles Lakers being massively overlooked?
Over the last month of the season, the Lakers have been quite good - and that's with the big trade. Since January 15, the Lakers are 12-2 on the season. They also aren't just beating up on bad teams in that stretch. They had some impressive wins over the likes of Golden State (twice), Indiana, New York, LA, Boston, and Indiana.
The Lakers are currently tied in the loss column with the Denver Nuggets for the third seed in the West standings. They're also just two games back (in the loss column) of the Memphis Grizzlies for the second seed.
There's reason to believe that this team is beginning to hit its stride - and with the addition of Luka, the team could have a much higher ceiling than before. In the West, aside from the Thunder and maybe the Nuggets, it's hard to envision any team in the conference that the Lakers would be overmatched by in terms of talent. Usually, that's half the battle heading into playoff matchups.
While I wouldn't go as far as saying that the Lakers are going to be a favorite heading into the postseason, it wouldn't be that outlandish to suggest that if they can remain healthy that they can make a run - perhaps similar to the one they made during the 2022-23 season in which they fell to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. With Luka and LeBron on the roster, they're always going to have a shot in a playoff series. And even if they aren't a favorite, that should be scary for any team they face off against in the postseason.