3 things Charles Barkley and critics are missing out on Luka Doncic led Lakers’ resurgence

Charles Barkley does not believe Luka Doncic and LeBron James led Los Angeles Lakers are championship contenders.

3 things Charles Barkley and critics are missing out on Luka Doncic led Lakers’ resurgence

Luka Doncic and LeBron James led Los Angeles Lakers continue to prove Charles Barkley wrong

The Los Angeles Lakers have won four out of six games since Luka Doncic arrived on the West coast. In their statement win against the Denver Nuggets, they displayed a different style of basketball where LeBron James plays off the ball. But even then, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley remains unimpressed.

He was critical of the Lakers before Doncic came in and continues to hold the same opinion. He initially said that the Slovenian will find it tough in the first few games until he adjusts to their style of play. A few games in, it seems the only problem holding the team back from exploding is his efficiency.

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The Nuggets game was his best so far. Add that to the team performance, and it was the exclamation point of this season. Even then, Charles Barkley does not believe they are championship contenders. So, what is it that the Hall of Famer is not seeing from the team.

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His theory of the Los Angeles Lakers not being good enough stems from the run of bad games they had from mid-November to mid-December. In that stretch, they lost blowout games to playoff contenders and looked miserable and showed they have some serious flaws.

But now this is a completely different Lakers team. It may be a small sample size, but these past six games have shown some things that give the impression, the team has what it takes to reach the NBA Finals. These are the three things Barkley and other critics are not seeing.

Off-ball LeBron James

During the latest win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, commentators referenced that their head coach Chris Finch claimed that there is no scouting report on LeBron James playing off the ball. That happens to be true as the superstar has not played off the ball other than the early few years of his career.

That means, for 18-19 seasons, players, coaches and scouts have not seen him play off the ball. This also means that now scouts and analysts have to sit down and analyze this new version of James. Their concerns are primarily on the offensive side of the ball.

Their concerns are valid as James uses his 22 seasons worth of experience along with his incredible basketball IQ to get into scoring positions that he has not done before. This leaves opposition defenses stranded.

In the last three games, the 40-year-old has averaged 28.3 points and a staggering 12.6 rebounds per game. Both those numbers are third or fourth best in the league. His assists have dipped, but this new LeBron James has become a handful for opponents.

When many thought his tiring body might not be able to take it anymore, this new off-ball version of the all-time leading scorer can help keep him fresh. He does not have to exhaust himself by continuously having to drive to the rim. That extra energy is also showing on defense.

Positionless defense

Many are in awe with the way LeBron James has played defense in those past few games. The same can be said about the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers. Even Luka Doncic, often labelled as one who does not show interest on defense is getting in on it. It comes down to a positionless system created by JJ Redick.

When they play their starting lineup, it means they have a center in place. But even with Jaxson Hayes’ mobility, the team do not have a problem switching. In the third game of Luka Doncic’s Lakers career, the Charlotte Hornets switched him on and attacked him.

Now in this positionless system, any player not guarding the ball handler is in a free safety role. That means, whenever a team wants to attack a weaker defender, help is always available. The result, they stifled the Denver Nuggets and most importantly Nikola Jokic.

They did the same against the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves early on. The only problem for them has been to play with the same intensity later on in the game. Expect Redick to figure out how to combat that soon. But that defense has top players rattled.

On the fly coaching paying dividends for Los Angeles Lakers

Whenever the starters looked suspect, JJ Redick has switched out players and moved to a small ball lineup. When one of them has a string of bad shots, he takes them out, allowing them to reset. The former player and ESPN analyst-cum-commentator has so far showed out.

It is evident that his players believe in his methods. His on-the-fly adjustments seemed a bit too much early on. At that time, some criticized his constant barking of orders and his overall demeanor. But now those instructions are coming into form, and he has the Los Angeles Lakers looking good.

The likes of Charles Barkley need to understand that this is still early days. Luka Doncic has yet to come up to speed with his efficiency and is still learning the nuances of his teammates. LeBron James has still not shown what he can do in his new role. The rest of the team are still learning on how to adjust on the fly.

There are 25 games left on their regular season schedule. They have one of the toughest remaining schedules in the league. Maybe that tough schedule will speed up their development and make them a serious title contender. The signs are already visible, just that they have to execute it.