Lakers Hit All-Star Break at .611 Despite Negative Point Differential

Overview

• Los Angeles sits 33-21 at the All-Star break yet has been outscored by a single point this season.
• The team is only the third in the 30-season play-by-play era to pair a .600+ pace with a negative point differential at the break.
• The 1997 Hornets and 2021 Trail Blazers previously fit this profile and both lost in the first round of the playoffs.
• The Lakers own the NBA’s best clutch-time mark at 15-3, a late-game edge that helps explain the discrepancy.
• They are one of 10 teams winning at least 60 percent of their games entering the break, with the Clippers and Celtics up next.