LOS ANGELES — It was fitting that the Lakers ended November this way: Rolling a lesser opponent to complete the franchise’s most dominant month since before Kobe and Shaq ever won a title together.
With a 125-103 thrashing of the Washington Wizards, the Lakers improved their league-best record to 17-2 and won 14 of the 15 games they played in November. It marked their first 14-win month since March 2000 and just the ninth in franchise history. At some point, the historical implications become unavoidable.
Any season in which the Lakers have won at least 14 games in a month they advanced to the NBA Finals. Twice, in 1971-72 and 1999-00, they won the championship.
Their 10-game winning streak is the longest since 2009-10, when they won the championship. Their 17-2 start is also the best since that same season.
So are the Lakers as good as their historical comps? We will have a much better sense at the end of December than we do now.
