INDIANAPOLIS — The Lakers’ last three weeks were long established as the season-defining stretch of the season.
And they crushed it, flipping the script on several narratives even after Monday’s loss to the Pistons, which ended their season-best nine-game winning streak.
The Lakers went from being viewed as “pretenders” to potential NBA title contenders.
Star guard Luka Doncic gained momentum in the MVP debate after there were questions about whether he’d even be selected to the All-NBA first team.
LeBron James’ fit with the roster, and his willingness to adapt to what the Lakers needed from him, became clearer, dismissing the notion the Lakers are better without him.
Austin Reaves has firmly established himself as the team’s second option.
How quickly things can change.
The Lakers earned being viewed in a more positive light for this season after winning nine of the previous 11 games entering Wednesday’s road-trip-ending matchup against the Pacers.
And they didn’t just win but they beat some of the league’s best teams with victories over the Knicks, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Rockets (twice) — also dismissing a narrative they can’t beat teams toward the top of the standings.
But what went into the Lakers dominating this stretch?
MVP-caliber play
The recent surge starts with Doncic, who’s unquestionably having his best stretch since joining the Lakers last February.
Doncic, who was already the league’s top scorer, entered Wednesday averaging 38.1 points on 47.6% shooting (38.2% on 3-pointers on 13.8 attempts per game), to go with 8.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.7 steals in the previous 11 games.
This includes a stretch of scoring at least 30 points in the 10 consecutive games leading into Wednesday, including a 51-point near-triple-double in the March 12 home win over the Bulls and a 60-point performance in the March 19 road win over the Heat.
Doncic went from playing at an All-NBA level to best-player-in-the-world status over the last few weeks.
Having Doncic at that level of play has changed the Lakers’ season.
DominAyton
Every Lakers role player has stepped up during the last few weeks.
But no player has changed their conversation around them more than starting center Deandre Ayton.
Since missing the final 44 ½ minutes of the March 5 road loss to the Nuggets, Ayton has played like the Lakers have needed him to, further showing why he’s their X-factor.
He averaged 10.3 points (69.7% shooting) and 8.2 rebounds — including 3.5 offensive boards — in his previous 10 games entering Wednesday.
Ayton’s doing more of the little things the Lakers need from him despite not shooting or having the ball as much as he did earlier in the season.
The version of Ayton the Lakers have gotten in March is the version they’ve needed of him all season — and the only version that’ll work for the Lakers to compete in the playoffs.
Good fortune
Acknowledging the ways in which the Lakers have gotten lucky over the last couple of weeks doesn’t take away from what they’ve accomplished in March.
After their misfortunes throughout most of the season, it was time for them to benefit from good fortune.
But it’s also important to acknowledge the good luck they’ve had lately.
Whether it’s benefiting from opponents not shooting as well on 3-pointers as they could after overperforming on 3s to start the season.
Or the game-winning shots from Doncic and Luke Kennard in the March 14 win over the Nuggets and Saturday’s win over the Magic, respectively.
Or being able to maintain having a mostly healthy rotation for most of the month, although Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura sat out for the second consecutive games against the Pacers.
The Lakers are better now than they were earlier in the season.
But they’ve also been luckier — which they don’t have to apologize for. It’s a necessary part of the recipe for success in the NBA.
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