Could the Lakers Pose Post-Season Threat to Thunder?

The Los Angeles Lakers have gone on a tear since acquiring Luka Doncic. Could they pose a threat to Oklahoma City come playoff season?

Nov 29, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Since the acquisition of Luka Doncic, the Lakers have risen up the Western Conference and positioned themselves as one of the premier teams in the conference.

On Feb. 1, the Lakers sat comfortably in the fifth seed in the West, and held a 28-19 record. But since shipping off Anthony Davis and bringing in Doncic, their regular season success has skyrocketed and illuminated them as a potential postseason threat to the West-leading Thunder.

Los Angeles has mounted a 12-2 record since Doncic's arrival. Though injured and unavailable for the first three contests since he got to Los Angeles, Doncic has played a key role in nine of those victories. In three outings in the month of March, Doncic is averaging 30.3 points on 45.8% shooting and 40.5% from long distance, as well as an impressive 12 assists a night.

Initially, the trade seemed to spark caution for OKC on the Dallas Mavericks front, as that team, that would already give the Thunder fits, would bolster its front court with Davis and hinge on its star playmaker in Kyrie Irving. That didn't necessarily work out immediately for Dallas GM Nico Harrison, as Irving is now sidelined for the rest of the season with a torn ACL and Davis may not return due to his own injury issues, and the Mavericks likely making a business decision to shut him down.

But now, it looks like Los Angeles could be the true threat to Oklahoma City with how this team has navigated its shiny, new addition.

The Thunder still very much so sit in the driver's seat in the West through with an immaculate 51-11 record, its best record at this point in the season in franchise history, and the team does not look like it is slowing down its momentum any time soon--if anything, the team is gaining it.

Oklahoma City has very rarely seen full health this season, and winding down until April, head coach Mark Daigneault will assuredly take things relatively slow with the players who have shown to be injury prone, such as Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, among others.

It'd be an interesting matchup between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles if they cross paths in the postseason, as the Lakers have an opportunity to pose the biggest challenge to the team from Bricktown.

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