The Lakers are winning games, but let’s not confuse that with being a finished product. At 27-17 heading into Monday night, they’ve picked up three wins in their last four, but the numbers and the eye test both tell us this team still hasn’t fully found its footing - and certainly not its championship identity.
Injuries have played a part, no question. LeBron James missed training camp, the preseason, and the first 14 games of the season dealing with sciatica.
Austin Reaves has barely been on the floor since mid-December. And the trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron, and Reaves - the core of this team’s offensive firepower - has only shared the court in eight of the Lakers’ 44 games so far.
That’s a chemistry problem waiting to be solved.
But even with injuries factored in, the bigger concern is structural. This team still doesn’t know exactly what it wants to be.
The offense? Ranked ninth in the league.
That’s solid, but not the kind of elite firepower you expect from a team with title aspirations and this much star power. The defense?
That’s where the real issues lie. Sitting at 25th in the league, it’s simply not good enough.
For a team looking to contend, you can’t hang your hat on one end of the floor and hope it’s enough.
The imbalance shows up in the results. Of their 17 losses, 15 have come by double digits.
That’s not just losing - that’s getting run off the floor. And when you zoom out, their point differential is in the red.
For context, teams that make deep playoff runs typically dominate the margins. The Lakers are still trying to hold their ground in them.
Head coach JJ Redick has been clear: effort and execution have to be more consistent. The Lakers have shown flashes - games where the ball movement is crisp, the defense locks in, and the stars shine.
But those moments haven’t been sustained. And in this league, consistency is the currency of contenders.
Lineup decisions are going to play a major role moving forward, especially once Reaves is back in the mix. Earlier this season, the group of Doncic, Reaves, LeBron, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton struggled in limited minutes.
The fit wasn’t quite there - too much offensive overlap, not enough defensive bite. On the flip side, lineups that leaned more defensive have looked better balanced, even if they sacrificed a bit of scoring punch.
The Lakers have the talent. That’s not in question.
What they need now is structure - a clearer identity, more defined roles, and a commitment to two-way basketball. The pieces are there.
But until they start fitting together with more consistency, the championship conversation is going to stay just out of reach.
This team has the stars. Now it needs the system.