The Los Angeles Lakers have looked like a completely different team over the last couple of weeks. Since Feb. 28, JJ Redick’s team is 8-1, including their current five-game win streak. They also have massive wins over the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets in that span, temporarily halting the narrative that they can’t beat good teams.
It’s a small sample size, but the Lakers have the No. 3 offense, No. 8 defense and No. 2 net rating in their last nine games. It has them up to third in the Western Conference with 15 games to go, with a chance to really separate themselves with two games against the Houston Rockets coming up.