Less than a week ago, I cautioned that before the L.A. Lakers are deemed to be legitimate championship contenders we need to see a larger sample size of games from them--and some games pitting the Lakers versus legitimate championship contending teams. ESPN termed Saturday night's clash featuring the Lakers versus the Boston Celtics to be the game of the year. At least ESPN did not call it the game of the century, though perhaps that would have happened after the game if the Lakers had prevailed to sustain the narrative of the past few weeks that the Lakers are the best team in the league. As it turns out, the Celtics built a 22 point lead, let the Lakers back in (thank you, high variance three point shooting), and then settled for a 111-101 victory.
ESPN devoted most of its pre-game hype to the Lakers' LeBron James and Luka Doncic, but greatness is determined by what happens on the court, not what is said in ESPN's studio--and, on the court, Boston's Jayson Tatum authored a masterful performance with a game-high 40 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, and a team-high eight assists. It will be interesting to see if the best player on the reigning NBA champions--a team that currently has the third best record in the league--cracks the top five in regular season MVP voting, an honor that is selected by people who often seem to be more swayed by hype and narratives than by objective evidence. Tatum does not hype himself, and he does not have a team of sycophants hyping him up; he just shows up and produces. Jaylen Brown added 31 points and six rebounds, while Al Horford made his presence felt with 14 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Doncic scored a team-high 34 points, but he also had a game-high five turnovers and a game-worst -19 plus/minus number. James had 22 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and a game-high nine assists, but he had a -11 plus/minus number before sitting out the final 6:44 with a groin injury. The Celtics led 94-85 when James left the game, and the Lakers pulled to within four (99-95) on a Doncic three pointer with 4:36 remaining, but in a little over two minutes the Celtics built the margin back up to 10 and they led by double digits the rest of the way.
The Lakers were without the services of injured starting center Jaxson Hayes, but the Celtics were without the services of injured starting center Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis is a former All-Star with career averages of 19.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 1.8 bpg; Hayes has career averages of 6.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, and .7 bpg while starting just 71 of his 351 career games. If both teams had been at full strength, the Celtics would have enjoyed even more matchup advantages than they did in this game, particularly in the paint. The Lakers went 20-4 in their 24 previous games, and during that run they ranked first in the NBA in paint points (44.3 per game), but the Celtics outscored the Lakers 48-38 in the paint.
TNT's Charles Barkley famously said earlier this season "The Lakers stink," and he only backed down partially in the wake of the Lakers' recent surge, noting that the season started last October, not in January--the point being that to win a championship a team must maintain greatness for a sustained period. There are valid reasons to question whether the Lakers can win the four playoff series necessary to claim the NBA title, including their lack of size, James' age (he is the most remarkable 40-plus year old NBA player ever, but the clock is going to strike midnight sooner rather than later), and Doncic's health (he has been dogged by nagging injuries throughout this season). The Lakers' lack of size puts extra pressure on James and Doncic to rebound and defend, which in turn makes it more likely that they will get worn down and/or injured.
James is an all-time great, but is he better than Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or Jayson Tatum right now? To win the 2025 NBA title, James might have to outduel all three of those players--and the strong teams that they lead in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Boston respectively. The Cleveland Cavaliers do not have a player of the caliber of Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, or Tatum but Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are having All-NBA caliber seasons, and the Cavaliers have other excellent players, including Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen.
The Lakers did not look like a well-coached team when they started the season 13-9, but now the prevailing narrative is that J.J. Redick is a great coach, and any evidence to the contrary is just ignored. During the first half--before the Celtics took over the game--ESPN's Richard Jefferson listed his buddy Redick among potential Coach of the Year candidates, but omitted Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson; all Atkinson has done is lead the Cavaliers to an NBA-best 53-10 record after the Cavaliers went 48-34 last season. Unlike the Lakers, the Cavaliers have been consistently great this season.
The amazing thing about Redick's Lakers is that they never have the wrong defensive scheme or overall game plan; if the Lakers fail, it is 100% the players' fault--and if you are not sure about that, just ask Redick or his media buddies like Jefferson, and they will set you straight. On a more serious and less sarcastic note, ESPN's Bob Myers--frequently the lone voice of a reason on a studio show including "Screamin' A" Smith and Kendrick Perkins--pointed out the incredibly low percentage that the Lakers' opponents have shot on wide open attempts, which Myers called "L-U-C-K." Another word for a defense that has been successful despite giving up a slew of uncontested shots is "Unsustainable." The Celtics shot worse than they usually do from three point range and the free throw line, and they still beat the Lakers by double digits.
There is no doubt that the Lakers are better now than they were at the start of the season. The 26 year old Doncic made the All-NBA First Team each of the past five seasons with Dallas before the Lakers acquired him last month, and he is an upgrade over the 31 year old Anthony Davis (even before Davis suffered yet another injury). However, the Lakers have a lot to prove before they jump the line ahead of teams that have been great all season, including Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and Boston.