The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA in recent weeks, going 14-2 over their last 16 games. That excellent run has led to the 48-26 Lakers being in pole position to secure the third seed for the playoffs, and Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki sang the praises of their Big 3 on NBA on Prime on Saturday.
“Luka [Doncic] has been playing incredible basketball,” Nowitzki said. “On fire for weeks now, averaging almost 40 a night. He’s got his stepback working, and when the stepback works, watch out all the teams, ’cause then he’s basically unguardable. The Big 3 is healthy, really, for the first time. I think they’re sort of kind of finding their roles.
“LeBron [James] has been doing a great job, kind of stepping back, letting the younger two kind of carry the offense,” Nowitzki stated. “I just watched him live play in Orlando the other night, last week, and LeBron was in the corner a lot, and then he kind of picks his spot. He’s still the best transition player. He’s a great hub still. He’s a great off-the-ball player. He’s got the brightest IQ out there to make incredible plays when the ball comes to him, but he just makes everything so much easier for the rest.
“And he lets Austin [Reaves] and Luka do their thing,” Nowitzki continued. “So, I’ve been impressed. Defensively, they’re mixing it up, as we talked about before. Luke Kennard has been a great addition, and they kind of get away with playing these subpar defenders, but they’re mixing it up. They’re mixing up the zone. They’re matching up out of it. They’re decent on the man-to-man. Deandre [Ayton] has been better.
“So, overall, I think that they’re doing really well,” Nowitzki added. “And is that a team you really want to see in the playoffs with three guys that can decide the game and take over down the stretch? So, been impressed with them, and we’ll see how far they can take it.”
Having three players who can take over games down the stretch in Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James certainly makes the Lakers a headache to deal with. Those three are a big reason why they have an excellent 22-7 record in clutch games this season. To put the record into context, every other team has at least 10 losses.
If the scores are close in the latter stages, you’d back the Lakers to come out on top. Doncic, Reaves, and James can all score themselves in isolation and can also set up their teammates for easy looks.
The Lakers were struggling earlier this season when Doncic, Reaves, and James were on the court together, but as Nowitzki mentioned, they’ve started to figure things out now. A big reason for that is James taking a backseat. The 41-year-old is letting the backcourt duo run the show.
Doncic has been running the show in some style. The Slovenian has averaged 39.7 points over his 10 games and has looked unstoppable.
While the offense should be just fine in the playoffs, the question is about the defense. The Lakers have looked good defensively lately, but Draymond Green believes their “gimmicky” defense will get exposed in the postseason. Green is giving them a chance against anyone because they have Doncic and James, but isn’t sure that defense is good enough for them to go all the way. Time will tell.
We’ll see the Lakers in action next against the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena on Monday at 10 p.m. ET.
