JJ Redick, Luka Doncic preseason debut, Los Angeles Lakers
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Head coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers high fives Luka Doncic #77 against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at the United Center on March 27, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
An anonymous Eastern Conference scout believes the Los Angeles Lakers, despite a 12-4 start, are not in the echelon as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, due to their lack of roster depth.
“Are they up there with Oklahoma City, Denver and Houston? No,” the scout told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “But they’re clearly in the top six. Their depth overall isn’t good, but their top-line talent makes them a team I wouldn’t want to see in the playoffs.”
With LeBron James and Gabe Vincent back from injuries, the Lakers have a solid eight-man rotation. As such, a West scout believes the Luka Doncic-led team has enough to finish as a top-three seed — like they did last year in JJ Redick’s debut season.
“They’re top three for sure. When you have Luka, you’re always going to be in the mix.”
Lakers Survive Injuries
The Lakers are a .750 team despite dealing with injuries to key starters through the first month of the season. LeBron James (14), Vincent (9), Doncic (4), Smart (3) and Reaves (3) have all missed multiple games thus far.
Bontemps spoke to several NBA scouts to assess the Lakers’ first-month performance.
“What I’m hearing: It has been a fascinating opening month in L.A. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have put up gigantic numbers, and LeBron James has basically missed all of it,” wrote the ESPN insider.
“Deandre Ayton has been productive … but the Lakers are several points better per 100 possessions with him on the bench than they are with him on the court.”
Defensive Issues
The executives expressed concern about the Lakers’ defense, which ranks 14th in the league, with JJ Redick’s men giving up 113.3 points per 100 possessions.
“Opponents are having a field day at the rim, with the Lakers giving up 69% shooting inside of 5 feet (fourth worst in the NBA). While they have an 11-4 record, they have middling overall efficiency numbers (11th in offense, 17th in defense, 14th in net rating). Add it up, and while it has been an impressive opening few weeks in the standings, it’s still unclear just how high this team’s ceiling really is — which was reflected in conversations this week with sources around the league.”
It’s worth noting that even their net rating (2.5) is in the middling range at 15, and pales in comparison to the dominance of the Thunder (16.9, Rockets (11.4), and Nuggets (9.8). To that end, the Lakers have needed several fourth-quarter comebacks to win close games, something OKC, Denver and Houston have rarely endured.
The Lakers’ long-range shooting has also been mediocre, with Redick’s team shooting 33.3% from three through 16 games, which ranks 26th in the league.
Despite all their issues, the Lakers will take a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s NBA Cup tie against the LA Clippers.