Voltar
The Los Angeles Lakers may not have a complete roster from top to bottom, but they're off to a hot start.
The Lakers sit at 6-2 entering Wednesday's contest against the Sacramento Kings, and a major reason for that is their offense. Los Angeles' offense is the best in the league so far and has a legitimate chance to stay at the top all season.
Luka Doncic plays a huge role in the Lakers' offense. He's currently leading the league in scoring, averaging 38.3 points per game.
The Lakers have five players averaging 10+ points per game and are firing on all cylinders on offense. Although that is the case, JJ Redick believes the offense can reach another level despite the hot start.
“I think there’s always room for improvement,” Redick said after the Heat win.
“I thought the way we handled them double-teaming and firing and blitzing Luka in the first half was about as good as you can hope for in the eighth game of the season. I thought all the guys were very decisive with their closeout reads. The thing we talked about before the game was just shoot, drive, kick it, just a lot of .5 decision making, we had them running around the court.”
While Reddick isn't necessarily critiquing the offense, he is praising how quickly the Lakers are learning to counter defenses that aggressively double-team Luka Doncic.
The Lakers had all the tools to become an elite offense, but given that it happened so quickly is a bit of a shocker. Despite having one of the best, if not the best, offensive players in the league in Doncic, the Lakers' roster this season is particularly new.
They have nine new players on this year's roster, so many would think chemistry and continuity would take a while to develop. That's still true, but it hasn't affected the offense.
The Lakers have the league's top offensive rating (121.9), rank second in points per game (122.5), eighth in average margin of victory, ninth in points in the paint (49.3), and first in effective field goal percentage (61.1%).
The Lakers' offense is a juggernaut, and if they keep this up, they have a strong chance to become one of the NBA's top teams.
“It’s just flowing. I think we're sharing the ball really well," Doncic said after Monday's win over the Heat.
"They obviously put two on me, so we just share the ball. It's 39 assists, which is not bad. I think everybody feels comfortable in that offense.”
The offense is flowing and in a rhythm, but there might be another gear the Lakers could hit, which is scary for the league.
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