The Lakers are off to a good start. After beating the Miami Heat 138-117 on Monday, they currently have a 6-2 record in the league. But not everyone is ready to hand them the keys to the West. One former NBA coach has given his verdict, and it isn't all praise.
On a recent appearance on the "Run It Back TV" show , Stan Van Gundy said the Lakers lean too heavily on a few players. He pointed to Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler as the ones carrying the team, and he isn't confident about the rest of the roster.
"The hard thing is, they're really dependent on three guys: him [Luka Dončić] and Reaves and Kessler. Any one of those three goes down, and they can really struggle. I'm not sold on the rest of their roster. It's almost like Luka has to play at this level for them to win. But yeah, he's capable of doing that," Van Gundy said during the show.
In his view, the Lakers could finish in the top four in the West by the end of the 2026-27 season, but he doesn't see them winning it.
"So could they be a top-four team? Yeah. But do I think they will be at the end of the year? I think it'll be marginal. I think they'll be in that 4-5-6 range. Their defense has been better than I thought it would be. But yeah, I think they'll be in the thick of it. I don't see them winning the West," Van Gundy added.
Van Gundy's concerns about the Lakers' supporting cast were particularly evident in their recent 112-95 loss against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Dončić put up 21 points in the opening quarter alone and helped Los Angeles establish a 23-point advantage.
However, things changed once he headed to the bench at the beginning of the second quarter. Although Reaves briefly pushed the Lakers' lead to 25 points with two free throws, the team's offense soon lost its rhythm. Golden State took advantage of the situation. They outscored Los Angeles 38-15 in the second quarter to erase the deficit and head into halftime tied at 53-53.
The Lakers' bench offered little resistance during that collapse. Collin Sexton failed to get on the scoreboard, while Sandro Mamukelashvili managed only 4 points and Quentin Grimes contributed 3 points. Moreover, Los Angeles recorded just 18 assists to Golden State's 31 and committed 20 player turnovers plus two team turnovers.
Meanwhile, Reaves finished with 21 points but struggled to make his shots count efficiently. He needed 19 attempts to reach that total, connected on just 1-of-6 three-point attempts, and gave the ball away 8 times.
Even in their latest win over Miami, the team's reliance on its leading players was noticeable. Dončić finished with 42 points, while Reaves added 27 points and Kessler contributed 15 points. All three were among the Lakers' leading scorers, once again showing how important their contributions are to the team's offensive success.
For now, Los Angeles will look to build on its strong start. Whether the supporting cast can prove Van Gundy wrong and help the team compete for the Western Conference crown remains to be seen as the season progresses.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
