The Lakers are on an eight-game winning streak after today's win over the Knicks. In the middle of the season, we also lamented that the Lakers may not be able to make the playoffs this year, but they have become a top team in the West at the moment. Why did the Lakers turn so dramatically? It all comes down to the Lakers' defense getting better, and it's incredible that the Lakers have become one of the top defensive teams in the league since Davis left.

During the Lakers' eight-game winning streak, they had one statistic that ranked first in the league, and that was their defensive efficiency. No. 1 in the league in defensive efficiency, this is an extremely critical statistic that can measure whether a team has the ability to win a championship. Because from past experience, teams that often win championships have the best defensive efficiency in the league, just like the Lakers in 2020.

So this metric is something that can make Lakers fans happy. A team that is the first team in the offensive league may not play well in the playoffs, but a team that is the first team in the league in defense will often have a big advantage in the playoffs, because there is an old saying in the NBA, and that is that defense wins championships. So for the Lakers, they're just looking forward to the playoffs. Extend your defensive efficiency until the end of the season.

Why did the Lakers become so tough on the defensive end? It comes down to the fact that they have several defensive giants on their roster who can influence the Lakers' overall offense and defense, namely Vincent, Vanderbilt and Finneysmith, including James who has also increased his defensive aggressiveness in recent times.

With a strong defense, what do the Lakers need to improve next? That is the stability of three-point shooting, and the Lakers can completely emulate the magic ball play of last year's Celtics, why did the Celtics win the championship last year? Their style of play is very simple, which is to shoot threes and defend. Some of the Lakers' role players need to be able to shoot consistently from beyond the three-point line after receiving passes from Doncic and James, and if they can do that, combined with their defensive efficiency, the Lakers really have a chance to lift the O'Brien Cup.