After five losses in six games, the LA Lakers found some retribution. They claimed a dominant win over the Toronto Raptors, improving to 25-16. Officially halfway through the season, it’s been a rocky road for the Purple and Gold. While they’ve shown promise at times, losses against teams that can match their offensive firepower have highlighted some glaring issues that exist. Luka Doncic is well aware of that.

The Slovenian, who leads the NBA in scoring, admitted the Lakers could have had a better record. It does feel like the Lakers let several games slip out of their hands. However, for a blueprint, Doncic wants the Lakers to focus on their victory tonight.

“It’s not a bad record. Obviously, could be better, but sometimes when you play like this, we play like how we did against Atlanta, it gives us a better chance to win. So just got to look at those two games and play like that,” Doncic told reporters after the game.

What did the Lakers do well in these games? Their perimeter defense came alive, preventing easy makes and a thunderstorm, like against the Kings, who shot over 60% from three.

In games against the Hawks and the Raptors, the Lakers kept them to shooting below 25% from beyond the arc. For a team that doesn’t thrive on the defensive end, taking away an opponent’s shooting offers some assistance to their elite engineered offense to cover up.

Still, the Lakers haven’t perfected this system by miles. For the season, opponents are still shooting 37% from three against the Purple and Gold. As great as their offense is, it has only generated a +0.4 net differential after 41 games. For a while, that number was in the negatives, making them the only top-six seed to have a negative net differential.

The solution is to play with intensity and organization. JJ Redick saw the team’s joy doing that tonight. And in particular, one guy could make all the difference.

The Lakers, Deandre Ayton need to be consistent

“When we’re at our best, we have high effort. We have high connectivity, and that’s reflected on both sides of the ball, and there’s a joy that we play with where we root for each other’s success,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said about the team’s vital win against the Toronto Raptors tonight.

It showed up on the stat sheet, too. The Lakers limited the Raptors to just 93 points. And despite a concerning assist/turnover ratio, managed to create enough separation to where they cruised to a win. A lot of that was possible because of how Deandre Ayton performed. It was a perfect, historic night for the Lakers center, who has been under some scrutiny.

He scored a team-high 25 points to go with rebounds without missing a single shot. His presence near the rim, where he finishes lobs and looks close to the basket, serves as the perfect outlet for a team with incredible passers.

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“He’s a very important guy for us. Very important on both ends of the floor. We’ve got to look for him more, and if he plays like this, we have a better chance to win,” Doncic said about him.

Defensively, a team effort is how the Lakers thrive. Without any specialists on their roster, defending with coordination has given them results. Furthermore, their offense could be cleaned up soon, too, as Austin Reaves gets closer to making his return. The second half of the season is crucial for the Lakers to secure a spot in the postseason.

They are currently sixth (25-16), just two seeds ahead of the Golden State Warriors (24-19). After spending weeks as the 2 seed, the Purple and Gold might have made a breakthrough. But without consistency, their status will continue to dwindle. Their effort, especially on the defensive end, needs to show up every night. On the other hand, they have ample options to win games.

However, with an organized effort, it gives the offense some breathing room against mistakes. Do you think the Lakers can see a vast improvement in the second half of the season? Let us know your views in the comments below.