For Lakers, lots of offense the plan until further notice

The Lakers knew exactly who they were last season by midwinter. They went 19-7 in January and February, climbed into the top five defensively and leaned hard into the Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis identity shift.

It was gritty, stingy basketball, and it worked.

This season? Not so much on that end. As ESPN’s Dave McMenamin noted, the Lakers have slipped to 14th in defensive rating, giving up 10 more points per 100 possessions than league-leading Oklahoma City. That’s not just a drop. That’s a tumble.

But there’s a flip side, and it might be where this group lives for a while.

The offense is rolling. Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James give L.A. three creators who can shoot, drive, playmake and get to the line on command.

The numbers back that up. The Lakers are second in true shooting percentage, second in free-throw attempts, and nearly automatic in the clutch at the stripe.

When they want points, they get points.

It all came together last Tuesday against Utah. For the first time all season, the full 14-man roster was healthy, and the Lakers dropped a season-high 140 while shooting 60 percent from the field and handing out 31 assists.

That’s the version that scares teams.

LeBron is still working his wind back after the sciatica layoff. JJ Redick is still shuffling rotations now that he actually has options.

So for now, the Lakers’ best path might be simple.

Score. And keep scoring until the defense catches up.