Who does not love an early 13-game sample size? Today, we all do. That is what will be evaluated for this look at the Los Angeles Lakers.
An 11-2 start has featured plenty of success for JJ Redick’s team. There are a few stats in the early goings of the Lakers season that Redick will undoubtedly hope remain a constant throughout the entire 2026-27 campaign. Why waste time? Let us run through three of the key data points.
1. Lakers’ offensive rating (121.6)
Let us start with the most obvious one. The Lakers offense has been absolutely sizzling through 13 games of the new season. They currently enjoy a mark of 121.6 when it comes to offensive rating. That puts them at the top of the list when it comes to this category.
Is anyone really surprised?
Having Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves leading your basketball team was always going to set up the Lakers for offensive success. Doncic is the best player in the world. Reaves is one of the premier second options in the NBA. It makes total sense.
Even when either one of Doncic or Reaves have been out of the lineup, other guys have stepped up to deliver in their absences. The Lakers look like a well-oiled machine on offense thus far. They will undoubtedly want that to stay consistent for the remaining games on the schedule.
2. Points off turnovers (24.5)
Rob Pelinka spent his summer trying to collect disruptive defensive playmakers. Redick spent training camp focusing on installing a physical and aggressive defense. Those efforts have been paying off so far. The Lakers are creating turnovers and capitalizing on them.
Opponents are averaging 18.5 turnovers per game against Los Angeles. That comfortably places the Lakers top-3 in the NBA. They are cashing in those opportunities, too.
The Lakers are scoring 24.5 points off turnovers a night. At present, that ranks first in the entire NBA. Hard-nosed and opportunistic defense is leading to offense. That is an incredibly promising trend that Redick will want to make sure is not going away anytime soon.
3. Opponent points in the paint (43.1)
Unsurprisingly, one of the things making the Lakers defense so successful is Walker Kessler. There are a handful of numbers that illustrate that as being the case. That includes being top-five when it comes to points in the paint allowed (43.1).
Kessler has a strong mark in the category of field goals defended at rim percentage. The Lakers center is posting 45.7 percent. That is right in Victor Wembanyama territory. The starting center in Los Angeles is also registering a percentage points difference of -14.8 within six feet of the rim.
The simple and boring translation: Kessler has been an elite rim protector. The Lakers should hope the numbers continue to reflect as much, and the team reaps the rewards of stumping opponents down low.
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