After the NBA playoffs saw the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder go the distance in the Conference Finals, it’s clear who the top dogs are in the West. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and Houston Rockets are all comfortably in that second tier of teams.
Despite no clear path past either OKC or San Antonio, the Lakers bolstered their lineup this offseason. Sure, they lost LeBron James, but they signed Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney, and traded for Walker Kessler.
Those look like moves a contending team would make. Despite Rob Pelinka’s delusions, the Lakers are easily in the second tier of NBA contenders. Until they fix one key issue, the Spurs and Thunder will have their way with them.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Defense Isn’t Built to Last
Last season, the Lakers ranked 19th in defensive rating, second-worst among teams that made the playoffs.
James is no longer a high-level defender, but he’s still capable. Losing Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart hurts tremendously, even with the addition of Kessler down low.
The Lakers, it seems, have fallen victim to the NBA’s hottest trend: landing a Victor Wembanyama stopper.
The Thunder did the exact same thing by drafting Aday Mara in the lottery, although they at least have several elite weapons around him. Let’s run through this: even if Kessler can contain Wembanyama (who averaged 30 points against the Jazz last season), the Lakers have virtually no answer for any of the Spurs’ other weapons.
Now, the answer for the Lakers should be simple. After all, even if they won’t be able to slow down Stephopn Castle, De’Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper, the Spurs are no match for the one-two punch of Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic, right?
Wrong.
| Player | PPG | FG% | 3PT% | PPG vs. Spurs | FG% vs. Spurs | 3PT% vs. Spurs |
| Luka Doncic | 33.5 | 47.6% | 36.6% | 36.0 | 42.9% | 32.1% |
| Austin Reaves | 23.3 | 49.0% | 36.0% | 15.0 | 37.5% | 33.3% |
Even if the Lakers slow down Wembanyama’s offense, their two best scorers can’t pour it in against the Spurs, and defenders like Doncic, Reaves, Mamukelashvili, Grimes, Sexton, and Jake LaRavia won’t exactly inspire fear in the hearts of the Spurs’ wings and guards.
Wembanyama gets the headlines and accolades, and rightfully so, but the Spurs are a complete team. They’re built to win, and the young core is only getting better on both sides of the ball. The Lakers may have solved the biggest problem–Wembanyama–but failed to bolster the lineup anywhere else.
On the defensive end, LA was middling last season. Next year, they’ll get even worse. The Nuggets, Rockets, Lakers, and even the Wolves are excellent on either offense or defense. The Spurs and Thunder have perfected both. It’s why San Antonio and OKC have +100 and +120 odds to win the West, and everyone else is well behind the +1500 mark. It’s a two-horse race.
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