Five numbers that explain the Lakers explosive start and biggest flaw

The Lakers, like every other NBA team, are operating under small sample sizes. And with the 2026-27 NBA season just 1 ½ weeks old, that’ll be the case for at least a few more weeks until teams get closer to Thanksgiving. But a team’s first few games are informative, and the Lakers have already provided enough information to show the type of team they’ll be – their areas of strengths and concerns after a 4-1 start. Here are five standout statistics from the Lakers’ first five games entering Friday’s NBA Cup Group Play matchup against the Warriors in San Francisco:That’s the combined amount of points the Lakers star backcourt of Luka Doncic (league-leading 36 points per game) and Austin Reaves (24.4 points) are averaging so far this season, making them the highest-scoring pair of teammates in the league. Factor in their passing (Doncic with 8.3 assists; Reaves with 5.4) and they’re not only two of the ten players in league who were averaging 24 points and 5 assists entering Thursday, but also the only pair of teammates in the league doing so. Doncic and Reaves working so well together, while also producing gaudy stat lines, isn’t surprising. They combined to average 62.7 points and 17.1 assists during the Lakers’ 10-4 start to last season while LeBron James was sidelined. The star guards also averaged 58.1 points and 13.1 assists during the Lakers’ 16-2 stretch in the late winter/early spring. It’s unlikely Doncic and Reaves will come even close to being the highest-scoring duo in a season.The record of 72.3 points, which is held by Wilt Chamberlain (50.4 points) and Paul Arizin (21.9 points), seems unbreakable. But being the highest-scoring duos in a season since the NBA-ABA merger (1976) isn’t out of the question. James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who combined for 61.5 points per game while with the Rockets in 2019-20, currently hold that distinction.Considering the aforementioned combined offensive firepower of Doncic and Rea...