Second Half Surge

By Peyton Schultze

Sitting in first place in the Western Conference, the Lakers are looking to have a strong finish to the season in order to lock up home-court advantage in the playoffs (via ABC7).

41 wins, two MVP candidates, the one seed in the Western Conference, a rejuvenated fan base, and the best road record in basketball.

On-the-court, it’s all good in Lakerland right now, right? Riding a rocking first half that saw the combination of LeBron James and Anthony Davis clearly become the league’s best duo, Los Angeles found a way to secure the league’s second best record heading into the All-Star break in impressive fashion. Finishing the first half on a three-game winning streak that was capped off with one of their best wins of the year on the road in Denver, the Lakers have clearly proven that they are a serious threat to capture their 17th title in franchise history this season. However, as the Lakers prepare to kick off the second half of the season at home versus Memphis tomorrow, the hardcore push toward the playoffs begins. With championship threats such as the Nuggets, Jazz, Clippers, and Rockets all competing with the Purple and Gold for the chance to represent the Western Conference in the 2020 NBA Finals, the Lakers have a target on their back as big as the Pacific Ocean as spring begins to creep closer.

The Lakers practically disappeared from any sort of playoff relevance for the latter part of the 2010’s, but one thing is clear at the beginning of the 2020’s: Showtime is back. From LeBron leading the league in assists in Year 17 to the limitless potential of Anthony Davis as the focal point of the Lakers’ offense, there’s been plenty of exciting storylines to follow all season long as a Laker fan. But will the Lakers return from the All-Star Break with a broken engine that stunts their momentum, or will they continue to steamroll through the conference until the start of the playoffs in April?

With James and Davis at the forefront of the Lakers’ attack, it is a mystery which team, if any, will be able to stop them (via Silver Screen and Roll).

As the Lakers look to secure their 17th title in franchise history, LeBron James has been on a pure mission to secure the fourth title of his career, and the first of his career while suiting up for the Lakers. Considered the runner-up MVP candidate to Giannis Antetokounmpo at the moment, LeBron has proven that age is simply just a number throughout the course of the season. With 25.0 points per game on 48.9% shooting, James remains as lethal as ever on all areas of the floor, including from deep. However, even with LeBron having the ability to nearly take over any game that he needs to, his most impressive quality all season long has been how well he has moved the ball around the court for the Lakers. With 10.8 assists per game to lead the NBA, LeBron has taken his passing game to the next level and evidently become the Lakers’ de facto point guard. James is arguably the most talented passing forward in the history of the league, and this year has truly shown why his vision and unselfishness has made him one of the best, if not the best, basketball players to ever step on the court. However, as he unquestionably already knows, his time with the Lakers will be judged on if he is able to capture another title for the franchise, which would undoubtedly allow LeBron to enter the conversation of Laker greats in the rafters of Staples Center. Even with how well his first half of the season went, there is no doubt that the best of The King in Year 17 is yet to come.

But even with James having such a dominant year after a season full of injuries a year ago, Anthony Davis has been the biggest game-changer for the Purple and Gold in his first season as a Laker. Looking to become the next great big man in franchise history, Davis has easily won over fans with his All-Star level play night in and night out. Effortlessly making a significant impact on the defensive end, Davis’ 2.4 blocks per game have helped create one of the better defensive units in all of basketball. In addition, AD could easily be considered the Lakers’ #1 option on offense. With unique post up abilities in the paint, special extended range from deep, and great efficiency at the free throw line, Davis has been able to total 26.6 points per game on 51.9% shooting. If this type of play continues for AD, especially alongside Laker big men such as Dwight Howard and Javale McGee, Los Angeles could easily be the hardest team in the league to stop in the paint. One of the only remaining questions for Davis is if he can stay healthy for the long run. Without him in the lineup, the Lakers have virtually no chance of securing a championship this season, and Laker fans are praying that he can stay healthy in the midst of a potentially long playoff run. There’s a long gap between now and June’s NBA Finals, but the Laker faithful can only hope that AD can continue to play his elite brand of basketball late in the season on the sport’s brightest stage.

Despite inconsistent play all season long, Los Angeles will need Kyle Kuzma to step up and play some major minutes down the stretch (via Lake Show Life).

However, if the Lakers truly want to finish this season by holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy in front of thousands of fans, they’ll need improved production from some of their key role players. Although James and Davis can carry this team through the initial stages of the playoffs, they could easily run into a bit of trouble later on in the playoffs when facing elite defensive teams such as the Bucks, Celtics, Jazz, and Clippers. Luckily for the Purple and Gold, key contributors such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Avery Bradley have played exceptional as of late on both ends of the floor. While Caldwell-Pope plays best when playing off-the-ball from LeBron with his smooth stroke from deep, Bradley has started to emerge as a player that can create his own shot late in possessions. As the Lakers search for their third leading scorer to step up when James or Davis head to the bench, Caldwell-Pope and Bradley could easily have their number called upon more often in the second half of the season.

In addition to this, one lineup combination that has actually worked surprisingly well late in games for the Lakers has been guard Alex Caruso filling in at the 1 alongside James and Davis. Caruso is not necessarily a star player by any means, but his spark off the bench has been huge late in games and has helped the Lakers close out opponents. With a knack for creating defensive chaos, diving after loose balls, and playing efficient basketball from three-point land and at the free throw line, Caruso could easily find himself in a major role in the Lakers’ rotation late in the season. The Lakers’ other option at point late in game remains Rajon Rondo, who has also played a bit better as of late. Although Rondo has been massively inconsistent all season long despite improved shooting, his basketball IQ and playoff experience could be vital for the Lakers.

However, amongst the players in the Lakers’ rotation, nobody has more on the line in the second half of the season than forward Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma was dangled around at the trade deadline heavily, but Los Angeles decided to keep him around for the stretch run in hopes that he would begin to turn his season around. Although he has taken a step backward in his third full season as a pro, Kuzma still has the potential to play well alongside James if he can improve his on-ball defense and shooting percentages from deep. These two factors could be huge for the Lakers if Kuzma remains in the rotation for the playoffs, especially when Kuzma could be forced to guard players such as Paul George and Kawhi Leonard at some point in the playoffs. Luckily, the young forward has had some of his best games against quality opponents, such as an impressive 25 point game performance against the Clippers on Christmas Day, so there remains hope in the locker room that Kuz can still be a key contributor deep in the playoffs.

With James and Davis carrying the load for most of the season, look for the Lakers to turn toward their role players for timely production in the last two months of the season (via NBC Los Angeles).

The biggest storylines of the second half remain quite clear for the Lakers: can they stay healthy and will James and Davis receive more help from their role players? Many people in the media have begun to question the Lakers’ title chances now that other teams in the conference have made some big acquisitions at the deadline, but the Lakers still have two of the top five players in all of basketball on the court together. This alone gives Los Angeles a shot at coming back home with their 17th championship this season, especially after the emotional outpour following the passing of Laker legend Kobe Bryant, but it is still clear that the Lakers have a lot to improve upon even with a sizable lead in the Western Conference playoff standings right now.

It is not to say that this season is a desperation attempt for the Lakers, but this could easily be their best chance of capturing a title in the foreseeable future. Although LeBron appears to be ageless at the moment in the 17th season of his career, he likely only has so many years left that he can continue to play at this high of a level. In addition, Davis is in the middle of a contract year, and could still choose to leave the Laker organization in the offseason despite his apparent happiness. With so much on the line for all the parties involved inside of the Laker organization, it’s appears that this team is the best chance the Lakers have to capture a world championship in the near, and distant, future.