The Los Angeles Lakers entered Wednesday in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 32-19 record. However, they are now an entirely different team after the blockbuster trade that landed Luka Doncic in Los Angeles at the cost of Anthony Davis. It is debatable if the trade made the Lakers better-suited to win a title this season, even if they are clearly set to build around Doncic for the next decade; as the loss of Davis's defense may not be offset by Doncic's offensive wizardry.
ESPN's numbers, however, think very highly of the Lakers' big name acquisition. On Wednesday's edition of Get Up Mike Greenberg revealed ESPN's analytics give LeBron James's squad the second-highest percentage in the West to make the NBA Finals, behind only the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder. Specifically, the network's statistical model gives the Lakers a 12% chance to emerge from the Western Conference playoff bracket.
