The Lakers are 13-1 as of late. Their average margin of victory during that span is 9.6 points Their largest margin of victory among those games was 24 points, and their smallest margin was Tuesday night against Phoenix at two points. On average, the Lakers have been cruising by their opponents during this stretch, with only moments of challenge here or there at any given point in a game. Tuesday night’s marathon should serve as a healthy reminder that while their are practically playing on autopilot right now, opponents are about to start grinding again real soon.
The Lakers play the Clippers tonight which, like any good college rivalry, records go out the window and you can expect things to get grimy at Staples. After that, the Lakers play only Western Conference opponents, 7 of them being current playoff teams, including the Thunder, Spurs and Mavericks.
Games like Tuesday night’s win will pay dividends come playoff time. During this regular season, the Lakers are 12-7 in games decided by five points or fewer. Yes, a winning record under that circumstance, but nothing dominant or convincing. In their current 13-1 run, five of those wins have come by five points or fewer. And of those five games, one was against Oklahoma (at Oklahoma) and the other was against Dallas (in Dallas). Two of those five wins were also against Portland, who always seem to give the Lakers headaches.
So how does this affect April, May and June?