From the above article:

No, we’re not talking about the deal that brought Luka Dončić to Los Angeles. Before the Lakers rattled the league with one of the most unexpected trades in history, they made another swap that is paying dividends.

Dorian Finney-Smith, already one of the NBA’s key role players, has become even more important nowadays, as the Lakers are using only one conventional center in their rotation.

Dončić is off to a slow start in L.A. James is on the other end of the spectrum, rediscovering his youth since missing a couple of games in December. Austin Reaves is extorting efficient 20-point games — sometimes better — two or three times a week. But how about that other guy, the one who comes off the bench and isn’t even taking six shots a game since the Lakers acquired him in December, yet has made all the difference?

Finney-Smith will make the extra pass from the corner. He’ll improvise a back screen for James, springing his teammate for a bucket down low. He pulled off one of these to create a couple of free throws for the future Hall of Famer during crunch time of Thursday’s win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two months ago, the Lakers needed an extra wing defender. Now, with Anthony Davis in Dallas, they could use physicality in the paint, on the perimeter, anywhere. Jaxson Hayes, an enthusiastic (sometimes too enthusiastic) jumper, starts at center. No conventional big man is behind him.

Lakers coach JJ Redick will use Finney-Smith alongside the four non-Hayes starters. He closed Thursday’s victory with a shrunken fivesome: Dončić, James, Reaves, Finney-Smith and point guard Gabe Vincent. In those moments, Finney-Smith is the team’s best hope for a stop — a helper on the wing and, at times, a stopper at the top of the offense.

After all, if a defense isn’t built to protect the rim, its best strategy is to prevent anyone from getting there.

Forget about the obvious on the play seen below from the Wolves game, in which Finney-Smith stifles All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards. Don’t worry about the footwork against a driving Edwards, the speed to keep up with him or the confrontation at the rim that bothers one of the league’s flashiest finishers. Instead, pay attention to what Finney-Smith does before Edwards even bounces the basketball.

As soon as Hayes alerts Finney-Smith to a screen on the way, the defender angles Edwards away from it. Edwards may shoot right-handed, but he loves to drive left. Hayes rises in front of him, a super play, as well. Finney-Smith recovers from the back side, and Edwards has nowhere to go.

If the Lakers want to make a deep playoff run, they will need plays like this regularly, especially when a center isn’t actually there.

They are 17.5 points per 100 possessions better with Finney-Smith on the court. Only the NBA’s perennial leader in this category, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić, bests him. Such a tiny group would present stylistic clashes with the double-big Thunder, Jokić’s Nuggets or during a primetime series against Davis and the healthy Mavericks. But for the Lakers to play into the spring, the small lineups have to carry them — and in the small lineups, Finney-Smith becomes the key.

From above article:

No one brings out Dončić’s “inner demon” quite like the Clippers, whom Dončić has tortured for years. The Clippers won their 2020 and 2021 playoff matchups against the Dallas Mavericks in six and seven games, respectively, but Dončić led the Mavs to a six-game first-round series win last April. In his 19 playoff games against the Clippers, Doncic has averaged 32.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists.

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Entering Sunday’s game, Dončić has averaged 32.5 points per game against the Clippers in the regular season — his highest average against an opponent he has played at least 10 times (28 of the 30 teams qualify, with Dallas and Detroit being the two exceptions).

“Maybe, obviously,” Dončić said when asked if he enjoyed getting testy with the Clippers. “We went back and forth a lot with the Clippers. That’s what I like. For me, that’s fun. And that’s how I get going, especially on the basketball court.”

The Lakers were plus-19 in his 36 minutes, the second-best mark on the team behind Dorian Finney-Smith (plus-24). Outside of the Denver win, this was as comfortable as Dončić has looked offensively as a Laker.

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“It just seemed like throughout the game, when we needed a bucket, when we needed him to draw a second, third defender at times, he was able to make the right play — minus the six turnovers,” Redick said.

Dončić’s teammates fed off his energy and hot start, leading to another inspired defensive effort.

“You’ve got a guy in your corner going Super Saiyan, for lack of a better word,” Gabe Vincent said. “And making great plays, hitting shots, it’s a lot of fun. It can give us a lot of life, and we’ve been creating a lot of energy on the defensive side. And when he gets hot offensively, we feel like we can’t be stopped in that regard.”

With the Lakers down two starters in Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, their third- and fourth-leading scorers, and an emerging and important bench player in two-way guard Jordan Goodwin, they needed all of the help they could get offensively. The Lakers’ offense has mostly funneled through James, Dončić, Reaves and Hachimura in their brief period together. Without Reaves and Hachimura, the Lakers offense takes a significant hit.

Reaves is day-to-day with a right calf strain. The injury isn’t expected to cost him a significant amount of time. Hachimura’s injury is slightly more serious. He’s out with left patellar tendinopathy through at least Friday, when the Lakers’ medical staff will reassess him. With the Lakers playing the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Saturday, Hachimura’s potential absence looms as a swing factor.

The Lakers began the season 22-18.They've gone 16-3 since and are now the No. 2 seed in the West — and their Finals odds keep improving 👀(Odds courtesy of @BetMGM) pic.twitter.com/EHRXfIdLNO— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) March 3, 2025

THE LAKERS ARE 2ND IN THE WEST FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4 YEARS 😱 pic.twitter.com/wFnFrEb5uF— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 3, 2025

The Lakers have won 18 of their last 22 games.The Lakers have won 16 of their last 19 games.The Lakers have won 12 of their last 14 games.The Lakers have won 6 straight games.— Witness King James (@WITNESSKJ) March 3, 2025

Best record in the NBA since Jan 15th, 2025 @statmuse1. Lakers (18-4)2. Thunder (16-5)3. Cavaliers (16-5)4. Knicks (14-5)5. Celtics (15-7)6. Nuggets (15-7)7. Pacers (12-6)8. Grizzlies (13-7) pic.twitter.com/1mFs6qFvWG— BronMuse (@BronMuse) March 3, 2025

Last three wins, Lakers have held opponent to exactly 102 points. 7 straight 102 or less, including winning last 6 of those games. Lakers have best defense in NBA and are proving it every night.

The Lakers are back.WE ARE THE TWO SEED. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/lkZzqkg6nl— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) March 3, 2025

BREAKING: THE LAKERS ARE THE NO. 2 SEED IN THE WEST. pic.twitter.com/py5hwkeuUZ— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 3, 2025

THIS MEANS SOMETHING TO ME 🥹 pic.twitter.com/uegxGlUwNj— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) March 3, 2025

JARRED VANDERBILT TONIGHT 22 minutes 8 points 9 rebounds 2 blocks +10 +/-VANDO’S VAULT IS ALWAYS OPEN pic.twitter.com/Zvo4i4eHAA— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) March 3, 2025

The Dalton Knecht we all know & love is BACK 🥹LAKER NATION, SHOW SOME LOVE TO OUR ROOKIE pic.twitter.com/DgHa46gGMA— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 3, 2025

The Clippers did not score a single point in the last 7:35 of the second quarterThink about that for a moment pic.twitter.com/2HeUmsa5nm— Lakers Muse (@LALMuse) March 3, 2025

Luka Dončić in the win over the Clippers:🪄 29 PTS🪄 9 AST🪄 6 REB🪄 5 3PMThe @Lakers are now the No. 2 seed in the West pic.twitter.com/Df8rTPoX8Q— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 3, 2025

DORIAN FINNEY-SMITH TONIGHT 🦤 36 minutes 🦤 11 points 🦤 4 rebounds 🦤 1 steal 🦤 +24 +/-DFS IS THE LAKERS -FACTOR pic.twitter.com/Ln57nblbNF— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) March 3, 2025

My prediction is Lakers go 13-4 over next 17 games to solidify #2 seed

W vs. Clippers
W vs. Pelicans
W vs. Knicks
W @ Celtics
W @ Nets
L @ Bucks
L @ Nuggets
W vs. Suns
W vs. Spurs
W vs. Nuggets
L vs. Bucks
W vs. Bulls
W @ Magic
W @ Pacers
W @ Bulls
L @ Grizzlies
W vs. Rockets

Austin Reaves (calf) and Jordan Goodwin (ankle) have both been ruled out for tonight’s game against LAC. Rui Hachimura (knee) is also out.— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 2, 2025

Man, we need everybody who can go playing tonight.
Hard to beat the same team two times in a row.
JJ Redick can earn some coaching stripes vs, Ty Lue tonight.

The Lakers closing in on the 2 seed with so much dip left on the chip offensively speaks to the upside of this group.Fix up a few key elements and you’re a title contender. The defense has woken up with a jump in process. Follow suit.— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) March 2, 2025