Sorry, Sir Charles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Lakers have won six games in a row,<\/a> including\u00a0nine of their last 10 contests. Their offense is clicking. Their defense is formidable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amid their win-streak, they\u2019ve beaten multiple teams atop the NBA standings, including\u00a0the Knicks, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Rockets.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to accept the reality you\u2019ve been dreading: The Lakers\u00a0are\u00a0contenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Saturday, Charles Barkley antagonized Lakers fans by saying he hoped they didn\u2019t beat the Nuggets. He said that would be his \u201cworst nightmare\u201d because then he\u2019d have to hear sports shows calling them contenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n Not only did the\u00a0Lakers beat the\u00a0Nuggets in overtime, 127-125, but they then won their next game against the Rockets on Monday, 100-92, holding Kevin Durant to nearly as many field goals (eight) as turnovers (seven).\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past two weeks, the Lakers have piled on increasingly impressive wins. It\u2019s time to accept the fact that a pattern has formed.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lakers win over the Knicks in which they never trailed\u00a0wasn\u2019t an anomaly. Their victory over the Timberwolves wasn\u2019t because Anthony Edwards was having an off night,\u00a0shooting 2-for-15 from the field. Their nail-biter over the Nuggets wasn\u2019t luck. And their grind-it-out win over the Rockets wasn\u2019t a one-off victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lakers are good. Perhaps they\u2019re even really good.\u00a0<\/p>\n Something has changed for the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n Luka Doncic is playing MVP-caliber basketball<\/a> for the second time this season after his sizzling performance amid the Lakers\u2019 15-4 start. Over the month of March, he\u2019s averaging 34.3 points, 9 rebounds and 7.7 assists.\u00a0<\/p>\n Austin Reaves is being aggressive and has turned into a bonafide star<\/a>, cementing his Arkansas flag on the elite of the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n LeBron James has embraced being the team\u2019s third option<\/a> even though he\u2019s arguably the greatest player of all-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n Deandre Ayton is playing with force. Marcus Smart is reminding everyone that he\u2019s a former Defensive Player of the Year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lakers coach JJ Redick can finally exhale. His long nights in his dark basement poring over film has finally paid off. Everyone has bought in.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lakers are in third place in the Western Conference. They\u2019ve hit their stride at just the right time. WIth only 14 games remaining, they\u2019re one of the top teams in the NBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those are whiplash-inducing sentences considering they were counted out mere weeks ago. After going 4-4 on their eight-game homestand, a purple and gold-stained natural disaster had officially struck Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n You know, Doncic wasn\u2019t a winner. James was a blight on the Lakers. Reaves was a disappearing act. And former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton didn\u2019t even compare to Rockets\u2019 center Clint Capella, the player with whom he recently lamented he was being compared.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oh, how things have changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, Doncic is a legitimate\u00a0MVP-contender. James is a selfless winner for playing behind Doncic and Reaves. Reaves is a sensation. Ayton has looked like DominAyton recently. And Smart has become the hard-nosed defender the Lakers needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, it remains questionable whether the\u00a0Lakers could beat the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me\u00a0of the West in a seven-game series. The reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder made them look old and tired last time they met. And it\u2019s uncertain whether the Lakers have answers for the 7-foot-4 alien that is Victor Wembanyama and his Spurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the Lakers can no longer be counted out.\u00a0<\/p>\n They\u2019re tough. They\u2019re able to adapt. They tallying wins against the best teams in the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n t\u2019s no longer hyperbolic to call them contenders. If everyone keeps starring in their roles, the Lakers could really make some noise in the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The four-time NBA champion James obviously knows a thing or two about winning. Doncic carried Dallas to the Finals in 2024 and is desperate to make former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison regret the day he put his signature on the most shocking trade in NBA history.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reaves is anxious to play well in the playoffs following his 2025 postseason struggles, especially with a potential max contract awaiting him. Ayton wants to prove he\u2019s not a bust. And Smart is ready to show the world what he can do again.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lakers aren\u2019t just a group of mismatched stars who can\u2019t jell anymore. They\u2019ve sacrificed to make The Big Three shine. They\u2019ve filled their holes on the defensive end and from beyond the arc, masking their deficits with unyielding effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lakers have arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sorry, Sir Charles. We all know the narrative that the Lakers are good is as abhorrent to you as setting foot in San Antonio.\u00a0<\/p>\n This postseason, looks like you\u2019re going to be in for a lot of grief.\u00a0<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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