With the Lakers making it six wins in a row and currently sitting at the No. 3 seed out West, it’s becoming harder and harder to deny the talent on the roster.
While Stephen A. Smith believes the team is absolutely a contender, Charles Barkley has dismissed the team’s recent performances, sparking a lively debate on ESPN.
Who you believe will come down to how much you trust March basketball, writes Rant Sport’s Loki de Pontes.
Fine form
The Lakers’ solid win against the Houston Rockets saw them solidify their position near the top of the Western Conference, extending a fine run of form since the start of March.
However, we’ve seen teams go on crazy runs, particularly towards the end of the season when tanking teams have committed to losing and older teams start running out of steam.
Still, it’s hard to deny the numbers. Eight wins in nine. Luka, Reaves, and LeBron are seemingly clicking, scoring over 74 points between them on average.
More importantly, after a start that saw them discounted as contenders due to their middling defence, the team is currently sixth in defensive rating for the month.
Lakers fans are getting excited.
YOU MAY LIKE: NBA: The Knicks are coming – and the doubters are running out of excuses
The debate
Charles Barkley was extremely dismissive of the team before their clash against the Nuggets.
“My worst nightmare is the Lakers winning tonight… And I have to listen to all the crap on Monday, on all the talk shows, how the Lakers are contenders,” he said ahead of tip-off. He then reiterated that the team is “not a contender”.
Well, his worst nightmares came true, as the Lakers have won both of their difficult conference matchups since then, overtaking Denver in the standings.
When pressed on the issue by Kenny Smith, Barkley refused to elaborate on any particular point as to why they couldn’t win the championship this year.
Of course, this prompted Stephen A. Smith to give his opinion on First Take.
“A top-three side in a conference is a contender,” he stated after telling the former MVP to “calm down”.
Smith then actually gave a reason for his opinion, praising the Lakers’ recent 3-point shooting and the improving chemistry of the team’s “Big Three”.
Actual arguments
What’s most annoying is that there are legitimate arguments to discount the Lakers.
March basketball is not always indicative of how a team will perform in the playoffs.
In 2025, the Clippers were significantly better than the Nuggets toward the end of the regular season but still lost to them in the first round.
One need only look at the insane scoring outbursts of players like Jalen Green in 2024 to know that March is not a great sample size for accurately predicting NBA playoff performance.
Personally, I believe Los Angeles is good enough to win in the first round. However, I don’t think they are defensively solid or consistent enough to beat either the Thunder or the Spurs in the second round.
Still, to discount them without even attempting an argument is just lazy on Barkley’s part.
When Stephen A. Smith is being a more reliable sports journalist than you, you know you’ve done something wrong.
READ NEXT: NBA: Bam Adebayo scored 83 points, and everyone is overreacting
