LeBron James, Lakers Climbing Standings, Can Become Golden State Warriors' Biggest Threat In West

The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to play like the team they hoped they’d be when they signed LeBron James. L.A. is quickly moving up the standings and showing signs that they have a chance to be the biggest challenger to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 126-117 Wednesday tonight, winning their sixth game in seven tries. With an 8-6 record, the Lakers have the West’s No. 7 seed. They are only a game out of the No.3 seed and two games behind the No.2 seed Blazers.

The Houston Rockets were the only threat to Golden State last season when they finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record. The Warriors will likely cruise to the most wins in the West this year, and Houston hasn’t looked anything like a team that can compete with the defending champs. The Rockets are playing better now that James Harden and Chris Paul are both back in the lineup, but Houston is out of the current playoff picture.

No one is going to stop Golden State from reaching the NBA Finals for a fifth straight season, but they’ll have to face someone in the Western Conference Finals. Why can’t that opponent be the Lakers?

L.A. has won three out of four games against the current No.2 and No.3 seeds in the West. The Sacramento Kings are the only other top-eight team that the Lakers have faced, and Los Angeles beat them by 15 points on the road.

The West likely won’t remain this mediocre for much longer. The Rockets should start to look like one of the NBA’s top teams. The Oklahoma City Thunder can improve upon their 9-5 start since Russell Westbrook has missed five games with injuries. The Utah Jazz are too good to remain at .500.

But it’s possible that the top of the West—other than the Warriors—will fail to reach expectations. Maybe a trip to the conference finals for James’ first season with the Lakers is a realistic goal.

James had a historic night Wednesday, passing Wilt Chamberlain for fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He did so in a masterful performance, putting up 44 points on 13-19 shooting while adding 10 rebounds and nine assists. James was even effective on the defensive end, recording three blocks and a steal, reminding everyone that he’s still the best basketball player on the planet.

It was easily James’ best performance as a Laker. Even though he hasn’t been in the early MVP discussion, James is still putting up incredible numbers with averages of 27.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 51.7 percent shooting from the field. After going cold from three-point range to start the year, James is hitting 35.4 percent of his shots from behind the arc.

And that’s just in the regular season, during which we know James conserves much of his energy. With an unimpressive Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster in the 2018 playoffs, James willed his team to the NBA Finals with a postseason for the ages.

If the young Lakers like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma can improve throughout the season, James has a shot to lead his team to another showdown with the Warriors.