The Los Angeles Lakers may be starting to find themselves as a team after securing their fifth straight win on Saturday by withstanding the New Orleans Pelicans. But that doesn't mean it has been easy.
They have had to come back from a sizable deficit a few times to secure victory, and their last two wins have come by five points or fewer in games that were decided in the final seconds against clearly inferior Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs teams.
With games against the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder coming up later this month, L.A. needs to rectify this trend of falling behind early and living on the edge. Head coach JJ Redick said that his squad is not making things easy on itself.
While Los Angeles ranks relatively high in several offensive categories, it continues to have real problems on the defensive end, especially when it comes to stopping teams in transition and limiting second-chance opportunities and points in the paint.
However, it did manage to hold the Pelicans to just 10 fast-break points and outscore them in second-chance points and points in the paint on Saturday, which was a major factor in it overcoming a 15-point second-quarter deficit.