An overpowering offense has been the ticket to the Los Angeles Lakers' success at this point in the season. Led offensively by Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Lakers have bene able to overwhelm their opponents with scoring on their way to a 31-19 record. 

But, offense can't always be guaranteed to be there and some teams will be able to match that scoring potential no matter how much of a tear the Lakers are on. That's where the rest of the game comes into play.

The Lakers have been criticized throughout the season for having a lackluster defense and sometimes a symptom of a poor defense can be a lack of physicality.

But, in recent games the Lakers have been picking up their physicality and no where has that been more true than in the Lakers' 119-115 comeback victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Trailing at the half and losing Luka Doncic to hamstring soreness, things looked dire for the Lakers. But, they responded by outscoring the 76ers by 12 in the second half and limiting them to just 28 points in each of the last two quarters. 

The Lakers were able to contain the 76ers with scrappy, tenacious defense that took the momentum away from Philadelphia.

The physicality that they applied in their defensive efforts was the biggest factor in that second half shutdown and for the Lakers to compete for the rest of the season and into the playoffs, a more physical game is going to be crucial. 

That's something that the Lakers are aware of and have been throughout the season, even if it's something they've only been applying in earnest recently.

"For us, I think that's what we need. We talked about when the season started that that's going to be the key for us every game, play hard and be physical. Those games that we win, I think most of the time we've been pretty physical, so I think we need to keep doing that," Hachimura said (via The Sporting Tribune). 

The Lakers have a tough task ahead of them in the Western Conference, and the biggest common thread running through the best teams in the West like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets has been how tough they are on the court. 

Matching that kind of physical intensity will help the Lakers make the most use of their offensive talents and help set the tone against their opponents that Los Angeles can't be pushed around. 

The win against Philadelphia was a proof of concept for the Lakers that a more physical game can work in their favor, and now they just need to keep applying those principles for the rest of the season and beyond.