Power Rankings, Week 2: Warriors, Spurs, Lakers rise up

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1. LakerTom says

   October 27, 2025 at 11:15 am

   FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

   #6
   Los Angeles Lakers

   Last Week:10↑
   Record: 2-1

   OffRtg: 120.5 (3) DefRtg: 115.6 (18) NetRtg: +5.0 (8) Pace: 100.7 (23)

   The Lakers lost on opening night and have lost Luka Dončić to finger and leg injuries. But they’re 2-1, thanks to Austin Reaves’ career-high 51 points in Sacramento on Sunday.

   Three takeaways

   The Lakers’ 128 points on 93 possessions (138 per 100) against the Wolves on Friday were the most efficient performance for any team last week. Dončić led the way with 49 points (his most in 35 games as a Laker), but three of L.A.’s other four starters – Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton – also combined to shoot 26-for-39 (67%).

   Dončić was 16-for-19 from the free throw line on Friday, Reaves was 21-for-22 from the line on Sunday, and the Lakers (who have led the league in free throw differential in each of the last three seasons) have outscored their opponents by 10.3 points per game at the line. That actually puts them second behind the Rockets (plus-14.5 per game).

   The opening-night loss got away from the Lakers when Golden State scored 23 points on its first 12 possessions of the third quarter. In total, the Lakers’ starting lineup for the first two games allowed an amazing 101 points on 66 defensive possessions (153 per 100). But L.A. has allowed less than a point per possession in Marcus Smart’s 74 minutes on the floor.

   Coming up: Last season, the Lakers had the league’s biggest differential between their home (31-10) and road records (19-22). After hosting the Blazers on Monday, they’ll play eight of their next 10 games on the road, a stretch that begins Wednesday night with their second meeting with the Wolves. Counting Games 3 and 4 of their first-round series in April, they’ve lost six straight in Minnesota.

   Week 2: vs. POR, @ MIN, @ MEM*, vs. MIA

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