The Los Angeles Lakers are off to one of their best starts in recent memory, improving to 14–4 after Friday night’s win over the Dallas Mavericks to move into sole possession of second place in the Western Conference.

L.A. was powered by a 38-point performance from Austin Reaves, who led all scorers, while Luka Dončić added 35 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds for Dallas. Doncic currently leads the NBA in scoring through 18 games.

Head coach JJ Redick has continued to rely on a tight eight-man rotation, with an occasional ninth or tenth player getting minutes. On Saturday, Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, and Bronny James did not play due to the coach’s decisions.

James has logged just one minute over the last two games, and on Saturday, the Lakers made the expecte

See Full Page