Luka Doncic Says Lakers 'Have the Team' to Make Title Run in 2025 NBA Playoffs

Optimism is high within the Los Angeles Lakers for the playoffs after they clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

Speaking to reporters after the victory, Luka Dončić expressed confidence that the Lakers "have the team" to win a championship.

"That's our only goal," Dončić said. "I think we have the team to do it."

It's easy to craft the narrative about why the Lakers can beat anyone in the playoffs. They will have arguably the best player in any series with Dončić on the roster. He is one year removed from leading the Dallas Mavericks, as the No. 5 seed in the West, to the NBA Finals.

LeBron James' status will be worth monitoring after some concern he tweaked the groin injury that kept him out for seven straight games in March. Head coach JJ Redick said after the game the future Hall of Famer is "fine."

Since returning from the original groin injury, James' performance has been erratic at times. He has scored fewer than 20 points six times and is shooting 32.7 percent from behind the arc in his last 12 games.

It's hard to imagine a scenario where James doesn't level up for the playoffs, so that gives the Lakers two of the best offensive weapons in the NBA. Austin Reaves has been the biggest beneficiary of the attention opposing defenses have to pay to Dončić since his arrival in Los Angeles.

Reaves is averaging 21.9 points on 39.6 percent three-point shooting in 28 games since February 10.

The lack of size and limited use of a true center could cause problems against some of the other contenders in the Western Conference, but the NBA playoffs have historically been determined by which teams have the superstar players.

It's hard not to look at the Lakers' duo of Dončić and James without being tantalized by what they can do in a postseason series against any team that might stand in their way.