No-Alternative2897

100 | 10 hours ago

They are now back to having a winning record against .500 teams

ThomasFurke | Lakers

23 | 10 hours ago

Above 500 team mascot clotheslines LeBron

incredibleamadeuscho | Lakers

9 | 6 hours ago

They always had a winning record against above .500 teams. People tried to pull out above .600 teams to make the Lakers sound worse

TW_Yellow78 | Minneapolis Lakers

6 | 8 hours ago

Still poor point differential. All those 1 point wins don’t mean anything if you don’t blow out the jazz or wizards by 40.

I don’t think they’re a great team but haters were feasting that they’re not even a good team because they had a lull when AR was out.

The point differential is because lebron and luka are game managers and the bench isn’t deep. I won’t even argue they’re clutch, they just take the night off sometimes to conserve energy (like how lebron doesn’t get back on defense sometimes and cherry picks).

BigFatModeraterFupa | Minneapolis Lakers

35 | 8 hours ago

Playoff wins don’t care if you win by 1 or 100 a W is a W. The most important thing they’ve improved on this year is clutch time performance. they are getting ready for tough playoff battles and this sort of experience is invaluable for them rn

Standard-Skin3138

4 | 5 hours ago

Point differentials won’t mean shit in the playoffs

BlueGrovyle | Hawks

1 | 3 hours ago

It’s too late in the season to impact the season point differential positively without blowing teams out in every win. As long as the team looks good going into the playoffs, that’s the best anyone can ask for. The 24 Mavs weren’t even that crazy until the trade deadline and their 18-3 stretch thereafter.

heat_fan_ | Raptors

35 | 10 hours ago

Maybe the haters will be quiet for a few days

Vitex1988 | Thunder

-58 | 9 hours ago

nope

Whoareyoutho9

10 | 8 hours ago

Go ahead then

I_am_that_guy_7 | Lakers

7 | 5 hours ago

Fu ock thnudre

OLacAlmost

1 | 15 minutes ago

It’s wild that the spurs are already better than the thunder tbh.

DementedWarrior_ | Timberwolves

1 | 6 minutes ago

I consistently see you in this subreddit always hating, genuinely has to be a miserable ass experience

Yeah 140k karma in 10 months, focus on school bro

Next_Target_7746

5 | 5 hours ago

nice

Methamine | Knicks

1 | 2 hours ago

I think its been a solid run. It coincides with reaves coming back full time and also being the definitive number 2 option behind Luka. Earlier in the season the hierarchy wasnt defined. now it is.

If i can just hate for a second…..

all of those teams are notoriously inconsistent

the twolves and knicks can beat anyone but also lose to anyone depending on how theyre feeling that day

the rockets consistently struggle offensively and dont have a PG

the nuggets have been borderline bad and at the least inconsistent since Jokic came back from injury (11-12 since)

heat have been playing well but also not that great of team

magic are a talented but dumb team

pacers/bulls as you said

sirbigmacwilly

2 | an hour ago

True, but that is just about every team outside of OKC, Spurs, and Detroit. Maybe Celtics. Most .500 and above teams still have some flaw

I feel like there are three tiers of contenders right now. Tier one is OKC, Spurs. Tier two is Detroit (if Cade comes back) and the Celtics. And tier three includes the Lakers, Knicks, Nuggets, Wolves, and possibly another team or two that can get hot.

RaggsDaleVan | Pistons

1 | an hour ago

Just know that Cade and Stew are out for when they play the Pistons

rocket_beer | Celtics

1 | an hour ago

Adam Silver petitioned and sold the idea as “best for the league”

Background-Top-1946

1 | 22 minutes ago

This could be the greatest winning streak in nba history

Yellow_Curry | Celtics

-2 | an hour ago

GO TO TYE FUCKING LAKERS SUB

SteamingHotChocolate | Celtics

0 | 32 minutes ago

🤜 🤛 my brother

tsultar1

-29 | 9 hours ago

I think everyone in media is talking about how challenging they could be in the playoffs so please stop pretending that they are getting no credit. Also, there is an amendment in the constitution somewhere that requires talking heads to mention the lakers regardless of their current play.

QuietMonsoon3314

-37 | 10 hours ago

Dont matter if JJ unplugs his brain and play starters only for an entire half again in the playoffs

White-Gravity | Raptors

44 | 10 hours ago

What other option did he have lmao their bench is garbage

QuietMonsoon3314

4 | 10 hours ago

If you think playing a 41 years old and a hobbled Luka an entire half is a good idea then i got a bridge to sell you

jefe_hook

4 | 10 hours ago

Just a bridge? Not a war?

ifuckwithit | Spurs

0 | 9 hours ago

i’m far from a lakers fan but they’re trying to distance themselves in the 3rd seed and potentially grab the 2nd seed, even if it’s a longshot. probably not going to work well for them come playoff time tho

Zealousideal_Map4324

1 | 7 hours ago

Bro spurs are 7 games above.500 wtf you mean potentially grab the 2nd seed

Sympho1 | Cavaliers

2 | 10 hours ago

he did not play Vando

Shadoken-TYPE0 | Canada

8 | 10 hours ago

Im not gonna lie im in a point where I’d rather see Vando than Laravia,. Everytime I see Laravia on offense I know its gonna suck

markmyredd | Minneapolis Lakers

6 | 10 hours ago

trust me Vando is worst. Vando fumbles receiving passes, dribbles to his foot, misses wide open layups, etc.

CabbageStockExchange | Lakers

5 | 9 hours ago

Jake has concepts of shooting. Vando gives you absolutely nothing offensively. Man misses bunnies and can’t make a shot to save his life

Then-Response8324 | NBA

-2 | 10 hours ago

at least jake can shoot

AbsoluteIdealism

6 | 10 hours ago

well, about that

randy88moss | Lakers

8 | 9 hours ago

You obviously haven’t been watching lately….dude has been abysmal from deep

80828788000102091020 | Lakers

3 | 10 hours ago

Just not 3s

No-Alternative2897

7 | 10 hours ago

Luckily, not the problem this yr when you have Rui and Kennard hitting game winner and buzzer beater

Animefan420lol | NBA

4 | 10 hours ago

Fuck you

RealOJT94

3 | 9 hours ago

The Lakers bench this year is improved. Last year the Luka trade essentially left the team with one center in Jaxson Hayes who can’t shoot. (Maxi Kleber doesn’t count he was hurt basically the entire season post trade deadline)

Hachimura and Kennard off the bench are much more reliable scoring options than Gabe Vincent and DFS were. And Jaxson Hayes is good enough to give Ayton a break at times at center.

The only question mark I think is Jake Laravia who has been abysmal offensively as of late. I wonder if this makes JJ Redick reconsider inserting Vando back into the rotation which it seems like he’s fallen out of during this streak since Laravia isn’t really giving them the supposed offensive bump that you don’t get with Vando out there.

Gagabubu777

2 | 9 hours ago

Dfs was great and in no way a problem, a huge amount Luis in fact. The issue was no center and the one we had was bone headed.

No center meant no back line defense no dual attack for Luka, + LeBron got injured from Carrying earlier in the season.

Uncle_Freddy | SAS

-39 | 9 hours ago

I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a hater, but they literally weren’t beating teams above .500 before this streak—they are now 19-18 against teams over .500, which means they were 12-18 before the streak began.

It’s not hating to say a team that’s 12-18 against >.500 teams with a near-even point differential has flaws and struggles to beat good teams. They’ve changed the narrative and are playing great basketball now, but they weren’t always this season.

SillyNews5539

37 | 9 hours ago

They weren’t beating good teams but are now beating good teams

Thanks for the analysis mate

TW_Yellow78 | Minneapolis Lakers

25 | 8 hours ago

Almost like it coincided with Austin Reaves started out hot, was out for a couple months, and is now back.

Uncle_Freddy | SAS

-3 | 8 hours ago

Not bad for a team that can’t supposedly can’t beat any good teams over .500.

I think this is just a bad argument. Obviously non-Lakers fans wouldn’t believe in the team before this streak; they weren’t given any reason to. Now that they’re on this streak, people have new data to form new opinions. It’s not hating to call a spade a spade.

MazKhan | Lakers

9 | 8 hours ago

Our big 3 has been injured all season, they weren’t able to string together 10+ games at basically any point this season till recently. They’re playing way better cause they’re actually finally able to play together and build some chemistry

podnap

2 | 8 hours ago

they couldve believed in their record in clutch games before this streak

Uncle_Freddy | SAS

2 | 8 hours ago

That was about the only thing people did believe in the Lakers for. The prevailing attitude was if you’re in a close game with the Lakers, you’re losing; otherwise, you’re probably gonna blow them out.

That combo hasn’t historically been the profile of a great playoff team, but the team looks great lately, Luka looks incredible, and my own perception of how far the Lakers could realistically go this year has definitely shifted pretty dramatically in the last few weeks.

All I’m saying is that it’s not like outside perceptions of the Lakers weren’t founded in reality before this streak; Lakers fans rubbing everyone’s faces in it is more than earned, but people weren’t wrong with their doubts when it was the only information we had in front of us.

Old_Supermarket_7575 | Thunder

-48 | 9 hours ago

Still think the lakers are fake

Luka needed to be on drugs to make it work

sasadoncic | Lakers

20 | 8 hours ago

Since when Thunder fans became even more insufferable than Warriors fans?

goatnxtinline | Lakers

2 | an hour ago

It happens without fail every time a team wins their first championship.

Old_Supermarket_7575 | Thunder

-21 | 8 hours ago

How is that insufferable it’s a reasonable take

Lakers have a 1.5 net rating on the year or some shit

9 game win streak is great, but Luka has averaged like 40

Sammy2729 | Lakers

6 | 6 hours ago

luka needing a slightly above avg 3pt shot was all it took for him to average 40, he didnt “need to be on drugs”

Old_Supermarket_7575 | Thunder

1 | 25 minutes ago

27 FGA and 38 mpg as well lol

7 out of 9 teams the Lakers have beaten during their 9 game winning streak have been teams over .500