Is Doncic’s first MVP coming? The Lakers won 5 consecutive victories and ranked second in the Western Conference, second only to the Thunder

After defeating the Spurs 118-116 at home, the Lakers won 5 consecutive games, with a record of 7 wins and 2 losses, and their ranking surpassed the Spurs and rose to second in the Western Conference. And because the Thunder's eight-game winning streak was ended by the Trail Blazers, the Lakers are only one game behind the Thunder, which ranks first in the Western Conference. Although the Lakers lost to the Warriors in the opening game, they achieved 7 wins and 1 loss in the next 8 games, losing only one game to the Trail Blazers.

As the defending champion, the Thunder started with an 8-game winning streak, surpassing the record of 7 consecutive wins set last season. This is also normal, because the Thunder are very strong. However, many people may not have expected that the Lakers can have such a brilliant performance at the beginning of this season and rank second in the Western Conference.

Moreover, the Lakers did it despite an uneven lineup. James has been affected by sciatica and has not yet made his season debut. Doncic has also missed 4 games due to injury. Reeves has also missed two consecutive games. Vincent only played 3 games before suffering an injury. So far this season, only three Lakers players, Laravia, Hachimura and Vanderbilt, have maintained full attendance. Due to a lack of personnel, the Lakers have used 7 starting lineups in 9 games.

Looking at it this way, it is very rare for the Lakers to still have the second best record in the Western Conference. Of course, this is also because the main players such as Doncic, Reeves, Laravia, Ayton, Hachimura, and Smart are all very powerful. Especially Doncic and Reaves, both performed superbly. Doncic averaged 40 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists per game, and Reeves averaged 31 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists per game. So even without James, the Lakers performed very strongly.

If the Lakers can rank second in the Western Conference at the end of the regular season, then Doncic will have a high probability of winning his first career MVP, provided of course that he plays at least 65 games. Doncic has long been an MVP-level player, but he has never won the MVP because his team record is not very good. There's nothing to say about Doncic's state at the start of this season. The only thing that can stop him from winning the MVP is his record.

Although the Lakers are currently very strong, they still have to face a wave of five consecutive away schedules. Their opponents are the Hawks, Hornets, Thunder, Pelicans, and Bucks. Moreover, James will not be able to return until the away trip is over, so it is hard to say whether the Lakers can remain among the top two in the Western Conference. After all, the competition in the Western Conference is very fierce.