Lakers take a huge leap forward in The Athletic's NBA power rankings
When this season began, the Los Angeles Lakers were picked by many people to be, at best, a play-in tournament team. But they ended January in fifth place in the Western Conference and were looking like a legitimate playoff team.
Then came the trade heard around the world on Feb. 1 that landed them young generational superstar Luka Doncic. Now, the Lakers are on a seven-game winning streak, and overall, they have won 19 of their last 23 games, a stretch that dates back to mid-January.
It has resulted in a growing number of people considering the Lakers as legitimate threats to reach at least the Western Conference Finals.
The Athletic's latest NBA power rankings reflect this vast improvement in the team's fortunes. Its last power rankings had the team at No. 6, but L.A. has now risen to No. 3 ahead of the defending world champion Boston Celtics and behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Via The Athletic:
"They're the best team in basketball since Jan. 20 and have been led by a defense that refuses to allow points in the paint," Law Murray wrote. "They're not going to catch the Thunder in the regular season, but the Lakers should be considered the biggest threat to Oklahoma City while adopting to their new role as the hunted team for home-court advantage in the Western Conference semifinals."
Although they don't have a legitimate starting-caliber center after giving up superstar big man Anthony Davis to land Doncic, the Lakers have been winning games in bunches with defense. They were first in defensive rating for the month of February, and they recently had a streak of seven straight contests in which they held teams to 102 points or fewer.
Once they start to approach their potential on the offensive end of the court, they could truly start to look scary.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers take a huge leap forward in The Athletic's NBA power rankings
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