Sometimes numbers really do tell the story. The Lakers, statistically speaking, have the best bench in the league and it isn’t even close. The Lakers bench has a +/- rating of +263. Utah is next at +215, followed by Chicago at +191. No other team in the league is over 100.
Where does that show up in the box score?
Quite literally, the Lakers just wear people out. In games through November 15, the Lakers outscored their opponents by a league-leading 6.5 points in the fourth quarter and second-best 3.9 points in the third quarter.
In Thursday’s win over Phoenix, the Lakers outscored the Suns 30-23 in the third quarter and played an even 25-25 in the fourth.
The Lakers bench outscored Phoenix’ bench 44-30.
