Name: Where This Lakers Playoff Run Ranks All-Time in Franchise History
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Where This Lakers Playoff Run Ranks All-Time in Franchise History

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0 of 5The are one win away from the 2020 championship following a 102-96 win over the on Tuesday.If they can prevent Miami from winning three straight games (the Heat now have a 14 percent chance to win the series, according to 's projection), this might go down as one of the most dominant title runs in Lakers lore.After Game 4, these Lakers are in franchise history in postseason plus-minus and tied for in playoff winning percentage.Numbers struggle to capture caveats, though. When basketball historians look back on this season, some might point out the novelty of the bubble, the fortune of not facing the or , and the fact that a torn plantar fascia cost Miami Goran Dragic, its pre-Finals playoff scorer.Of course, all , Anthony Davis and the Lakers can do is face the teams in front of them. And with the exception of one hiccup per series so far, they've cruised past all four of those teams.A dramatic Miami comeback would obviously blow up the narrative, but it's safe to say the odds are stacked heavily against that.If L.A. were to convincingly win Game 5, capping off a 16-4 run to the championship, where would it rank among the Lakers' best playoff runs ever?1 of 5Playoff Record: 16-7Playoff Plus-Minus: Plus-166 (plus-7.2 per game)There's a temptation to go with one of the George Mikan-led Lakers squads of the 1940s and '50s here. The 1971-72 team led by Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain also deserves a mention.But the level of competition and a smaller playoff field in Mikan's era and a much smaller average margin of victory for West and Wilt's squad lead us to a more recent title.In the 2009 playoffs, and led the Lakers to a 16-7 record, the fourth-best total plus-minus among L.A. title teams and the seventh-best plus-minus per game.Other than an unexpected seven-game test against Metta World Peace, Aaron Brooks and the in the second round, this team largely cruised to the championship.It was also Kobe's first title as the unquestioned No. 1. After winning three straight with years earlier, Kobe averaged&nbsp;30.2 points, 5.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds in the 2009 postseason. He piled up the most wins over replacement player of all time for an individual playoff performance.Of course, he didn't do it alone."I don't win those championships without Pau," Kobe at the Oscars in 2018. "The city of L.A. doesn't have those two championships without Pau."That postseason, Gasol averaged 18.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks. In the Finals alone, his box plus/minus dwarfed prime 's.Beyond that top two, this L.A. team had plenty of contributors up and down the roster.&nbsp;Lamar Odom averaged 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 51.4 percent from three. Trevor Ariza averaged 11.3 points and shot 47.6 percent from deep. Derek Fisher was the steady hand at the wheel. And Andrew Bynum had a handful of solid games along the way as a 21-year-old.2 of 5***Assuming They Win Game 5Playoff Record:15-4Playoff Plus-Minus:Plus-134 (plus-7.4 per game)Placing this Lakers team in the top five may be premature; after all, they haven't even won the championship yet. But a comfortable Game 5 win would put L.A. firmly in the discussion, and though they're only in their first season together, LeBron and AD already look like an all-time great duo.Both players are rocking an eight-plus box plus/minus () this postseason. Davis&nbsp;is averaging 28.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals. LeBron is at 26.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.2 steals.With those two clicking, there wasn't much more the Lakers needed to get within a win of the 2020 championship, but they got some help anyway.Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both averaging double figures in the playoffs. Rajon Rondo has had some big games and is averaging 6.9 assists and shooting 39.5 percent from three. Alex Caruso and Danny Green have provided perimeter defense. Markieff Morris is shooting the lights out. Even Dwight Howard has shown flashes of his old self on the way to what could be his first title.Though the caveats mentioned in the intro may linger for some, this group does deserve credit for taking down some of the game's best offensive players.Among players with at least 5,000 career minutes, , and Nikola Jokic are fifth, seventh and 10th, respectively, in in career offensive box plus/minus. L.A. beat them all.The question of how the Finals might've played out with a healthy Dragic remains, but the Lakers weren't exactly playing hopscotch up until this point.3 of 5Playoff Record:15-4Playoff Plus-Minus:Plus-193 (plus-10.2 per game)Led by a balanced attack in which Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Magic Johnson and Byron Scott all averaged between 21.9 and 16.9 points, the Lakers absolutely rolled through the Western Conference in 1985.They also went through multiple Hall of Famers, including Clyde Drexler and Alex English, on that side of the bracket.In the Finals, they faced four more Hall of Famers, legendary Boston Celtics Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson. After losing Game 1 of that series 148-114, they steamrolled their way through the next five, winning by an average of 10 points per game.In a star-studded postseason, no one shined brighter than the Lakers.Magic averaged a ridiculous 17.5 points and 15.2 assists. Kareem, in his age-37 season, put up 21.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.9 blocks. Worthy added 21.5 while shooting 62.2 percent from the field. Scott had 16.9 and shot 47.6 percent from three. Three more players averaged double figures.This team was deep, talented and had an almost rhythmic quality on offense.4 of 5Playoff Record:15-3Playoff Plus-Minus:Plus-205 (plus-11.4 per game)It may have been difficult to believe in 1985, especially given Kareem's age, but just two years later, the Lakers put together an even more dominant playoff run in 1987.Most of the faces were the same, though Worthy (23.6 points on 59.1 percent shooting) and Magic (21.8 points) took on greater scoring responsibility as Kareem (19.2 points) played past his 40th birthday.One addition to the rotation was A.C. Green, who moved into the starting five and led the team in postseason rebounding as a second-year big.Other than that, it was Showtime as usual, only a bit more mature. And through each Western playoff series, they were never challenged.They went 11-1 against the&nbsp;, and Seattle SuperSonics in the West. Then, they upended Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and the Celtics in six games with an average point differential of 4.2.In that series, Magic asserted himself against his longtime rival, Bird, with more points, assists and steals. Through those six games, he averaged an absurd 26.2 points, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals.5 of 5Playoff Record:15-1Playoff Plus-Minus:Plus-204 (plus-12.8 per game)The 2000-01 Lakers were one ridiculous 48-point performance from away from a perfect postseason run. Even after losing Game 1 of the Finals, their second straight championship felt inevitable.L.A. was coming off sweeps of three star-laden teams in the West.The , led by Damon Stoudamire, Steve Smith, Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen and Arvydas Sabonis, were balanced, experienced and dispatched in three games.The were near the peak of their early-2000s powers with Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac. They couldn't manage a win, either.The had already won a title with Tim Duncan and David Robinson, and they weren't even close. L.A. won those four games by an average of 22.3 points.Then, the ' one-man show was overpowered by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in five games.By the time the postseason was over, O'Neal had ridiculous averages of 30.4 points, 15.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.4 blocks. Kobe wasn't far behind, with 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals.It was undoubtedly the league's best duo of the time, and its supporting cast wasn't too shabby, either.&nbsp;Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Horace Grant and Robert Horry all knew and excelled in their roles.Altogether, the Lakers made up a defense that could dominate when engaged.&nbsp;In the regular season, their points allowed per 100 possessions ranked 21st, but that number plummeted to a first-place in the playoffs.With that in place, there was more than enough offense from Shaq and Kobe to lead one of the most dominant playoff runs in NBA history.

0 of 5The are one win away from the 2020 championship following a 102-96 win over the on Tuesday.If they can prevent Miami from winning three straight games (the Heat now have a 14 percent chance to win the series, according to 's projection), this might go down as one of the most dominant title runs in Lakers lore.After Game 4, these Lakers are in franchise history in postseason plus-minus and tied for in playoff winning percentage.Numbers struggle to capture caveats, though. When basketball historians look back on this season, some might point out the novelty of the bubble, the fortune of...

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Andy Bailey

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Where This Lakers Playoff Run Ranks All-Time in Franchise History

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