Through 36 games, the Lakers’ 13 losses continue to be discussed more than their 23 wins.
The discourse, while at times unfair given their record and the often ignored context of how shorthanded they have been, is also the medicine the team must swallow for the beatdowns they have endured. This is because when the Lakers lose, they get massacred beyond recognition. We’re talking Sonny at the tollbooth here.
Beyond the ugly defeats, skeptics are also quick to point to nearly every catch-all metric — like being the only team with a winning record that has a negative point differential — indicating the Lakers are just not that good in many or most areas.
That is, except one.
Of the team’s 23 wins this season, 13 have come via the clutch variety. Defined as possessions and or games decided in the last five minutes when the score is within five points or less, clutch is exactly what the Lakers have been, and when they are most dominant.
Prior to suffering their first clutch loss of the season to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, the Lakers were previously 13-0 in such contests. They remain the only team in the NBA with fewer than four losses.
As the league’s statistical enigma, the Lakers’ ability to win in the clutch is actually one of the only aspects of the team that makes sense.
For example, the Lakers rank fourth in offensive rating in clutch games this season. That may seem like an outlier for an offense that has waxed and waned, but in reality, they possess the league’s fourth-best half-court efficiency. This is pertinent because of how much of a close game is ultimately decided by which team can execute in this setting.
The Lakers’ strength in the half-court is nearly entirely a result of their star trio. With the Chimera that is Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, Los Angeles has three capable options who can always create a good look against even the most stingy of defenses.
This luxury has only grown with the recent strides in on-court chemistry between Dončić and James, specifically, in the clutch.
Over the past few weeks, head coach JJ Redick and his staff have made a clear effort to run more actions directly involving both players rather than ping-ponging the ball around the stars. This has come in the form of both Dončić and James screening for each other, one attacking off the other’s pass or one leveraging an advantage and creating an even better one.
The result has been a simplified but potent offense and a nightmare for opposing defenses.
As seen in the clips above, James’ ability to shoot, drive and pass off of Dončić has turned him into one of the NBA’s most dangerous release valves.
In terms of scoring, James leads the team in points, shots and free-throw attempts in the clutch despite playing in just nine of their 14 clutch games. He is also shooting a blistering 60% from the field during those minutes. And in the instances when the defense collapses on him, James remains as sharp as ever as a passer, dotting dimes out of the short-roll and post to cutting teammates.
The one-two punch of Dončić and James has ultimately only been as effective as it has because those aforementioned teammates have made timely shots.
According to the league’s tracking data, the Lakers are shooting 38.5% from three in clutch scenarios this season. That is fifth-best in the NBA and a big improvement from their season mark of 34.2%.
For as good as the Lakers have been on offense during crunch time, they’ve surprisingly been even better on defense.
Now, that may sound unfathomable given how notoriously poor they’ve been on that end this year, but the difference between how they’ve performed in their clutch minutes compared to all the other is staggering.
When removing garbage time, the Lakers are 20th in the league in defensive rating (117.8). In stark contrast, they currently have the third-best defense during winning time of just 98.5.
Unlike their offense, which is reasonably expected to carry over to clutch scenarios, their defensive discrepancy should raise some eyebrows. When zooming in on what is working so well in the clutch specifically, there are a few key areas they are cleaning up when they need to the most.
For one, they lead the league in holding their opponents to just 36.4% shooting from the field and 1.7 free-throw attempts. They have also done a stellar job limiting second chances, allowing just 0.7 offensive rebounds (third-best).
While there is certainly some luck involved with missed shots, aspects such as limiting fouling and cleaning up the glass are signs of better attention to detail and effort.
There are also strategic elements that have helped them during these minutes. Switching is still a staple, but there is added oomph to it with their big jumping to meet the ball-handler at the level. That added aggression can also be seen in the increase in times they’ve blitzed or shocked the ball in the pick and roll and double-teams in general.
The Lakers do not have the defensive personnel or collective motor to do these types of things over the course of 48 minutes, but springing it against offenses down the stretch has proven to be an effective changeup.
It remains to be seen how much value there ultimately is in being good in clutch scenarios when there are still clear flaws in other areas. Yet for a team figuring out how to maintain their winning pace despite those weaknesses, their ability to hang their hat on something — anything — has proven critical.
Eventually, trends become the norm. And the Lakers are a Dončić foul and Giannis Antetokounmpo steal away from potentially being 14-0 in clutch games.
You can argue many things about this team, but not being clutch is not one of them.
All stats courtesy of Cleaning the Glass unless otherwise stated. You can follow Alex on Bluesky at@alexregla.bsky.social.