SO MUCH FOR THE LAKERS KILLER. THANKS, MARCUS!

Jamal Murray earned the ‘Hot Garbage Treatment’ for his horrid performance in Denver’s 127-125 LOSS vs. Los Angeles Lakers 5 PTS, 1/14 FGM – 7.1 FG%, 1/7 3PM, LOSS Thoughts on his performance? pic.twitter.com/jgC1zuWCbh— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) March 15, 2026

Outside of the BIG 3, he’s the most important Laker. pic.twitter.com/5Vz7TkSxzl— Witness King James (@WITNESSKJ) March 15, 2026

HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE! 🖼️Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves might be the most clutch duo in the NBA right now 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BN6wjNe6z5— Mark Jackson’s Burner (@casualtakeking) March 15, 2026

BREAKING: THE LAKERS ARE THE NO. 3 SEED. 🔥👀SCARY HOURS #lakeshow pic.twitter.com/sghVmxGiHM— 𝟐𝟑 👑 (@BronWorld) March 15, 2026

"The Lakers are going to LOSE this game tonight, GUARANTEE! This little pretty girl wearing a LeBron jersey is going to be crying in 2 hours"- Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/jrvN3YMluW— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 15, 2026

This is my best friend's son! He got "fan of the game" at the Lakers game. It was his very first Lakers game too. pic.twitter.com/1IadTECI8j— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) March 15, 2026

“Just a big-time shot by a f—ing generational player. … We wanted the last shot. We wanted to put the ball in our guy's hands. So, it's going to be just the first of many game winners like that for him and in a Lakers uniform.” – LeBron James on Luka Doncic’s game winner pic.twitter.com/UhTsEIovS6— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 15, 2026

Austin talking to the basketball after forcing overtime 😂 pic.twitter.com/SaArMUSvE4— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 15, 2026

And we have the first Lakers overtime of the season: Austin Reaves intentionally misses his second FT, gets the offensive rebounds and makes a floater to tie the game 118-118. Incredible comeback from LA to extend this game.— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 15, 2026

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

When Deandre Ayton is playing his best, it elevates how good the Lakers can be.

It’s very clear how good Deandre Ayton can be. He was picked No. 1 in the same draft as Luka Dončić because he can dominate as a scorer, rebounder and even as a defender.

When he reaches those heights, he flirts with his maximum potential. But when he falls short of that quality, it’s equally disappointing.

During the Lakers’ current homestand, Ayton has been the best version of himself. Against the Wolves, he had 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Lakers dominated Minnesota.

After the win, Austin Reaves talked about how much Ayton matters to this team.

“He was a monster…” Reaves said. “He was the only person scoring for us efficiently and then just being high energy on the other end. Just doing what he does and that’s what we need him to do. When he does that, we’re a different team. We’re thankful to have him.”

While Ayton has had moments of disappointment, he’s still the starting center for the Lakers. When he registers a double-double as he did against Minnesota, the Lakers dominate. During the 20 times this year, Ayton has accomplished this feat, LA is 17-3 in those contests.

So, getting Ayton producing puts the Lakers in a position to win.

”I think he was very locked in today,” Dončić said after the win over the Wolves. “He was huge for us today. We need to encourage him to keep doing like that. When he plays like that, it helps as well.”

While Ayton is oozing with talent, he seems to be a player who needs the encouragement Luka is talking about. He’s a big who needs to get fed the ball and feel involved so he can bring his best. The Lakers have done big and small things to keep him engaged. A clear example of this is them making t-shirts for Ayton that encourage him to be a lion.

Ayton followed up his performance against the Wolves with an equally impressive game against the Bulls. He earned another double-double, and the Lakers won again, making them the third seed in the West.

Sure, Ayton can be frustrating and inconsistent at times, but his dominance raises the ceiling for this team. When he’s at the top of his game, he is far and away the best center on the team. And with the West featuring players like Nikola Jokić and Rudy Gobert on playoff teams, Ayton can help neutralize them with his game.

Hopefully, his current stretch of good games will lead to more productive performances from Ayton as the Lakers enter the home stretch of the season.

Jokic, Jamal and the Nuggets head to LA to face LeBron, Luka and the Lakers pic.twitter.com/uJPOB05juO— ESPN (@espn) March 14, 2026

Same advanced stats an metrics like EPM, DARKO, 3-year RAPM, that we universally accept to portrait Jokić brilliance, show that Luka has higher impact on defense than the players mentioned…but are never used when the talk is about Luka's defense. pic.twitter.com/rLNCDC80Br— Iztok Franko (@iztok_franko) March 14, 2026

Luka has the Lakers 3rd in the West and is putting up 40.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 7.3 APG over the last 4 games —Yet he has just a 1% (!!!) chance to win MVP. Are people sleeping on Luka? pic.twitter.com/oC6MKnnCv0— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 13, 2026