The Los Angeles Lakers have played mostly uneven basketball since winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. The Lakers sat in the top half of the Western Conference playoff picture back then. But their rather mediocre stretch has caused them to fall all the way down to 10th place in the standings.

However, on Monday night, the Lakers sure did not look like a 10th seed after they dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder en route to a 116-104 victory. In particular, LeBron James and the Lakers played with a force that fans haven't seen much of from them these days.

They were relentless in exploiting what looks like the Thunder's biggest weakness, which makes them a scary opponent to face, especially if they do end up making the playoffs as a lower seed. Even Skip Bayless, a pundit who has made a living out of criticizing James, is convinced of this.

“Tonight is why the Lakers are not afraid of winding up the 8 seed and ‘having to play' the 1 seed … if in fact the Thunder win the West. Heck, I don't think the Lakers fear the Nuggets. They just can't beat Denver in close games – but always play the Nuggets close,” Bayless wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.

Indeed, the Lakers, in every potential series they'll be in, will have the advantage of having the most battle-tested player in NBA history in LeBron James. At this point, James has seen every defensive coverage, and he knows what kind of composure is necessary to mount a deep playoff run, which the Lakers did last season despite entering the playoffs as the seventh seed.

At this point, Skip Bayless' tweet is more of an indictment of the Thunder's weakness. Make no mistake about it, OKC is one of the best teams in the league at the moment, but teams will be salivating at the thought of crashing the boards against them. Even D'Angelo Russell was able to point this out after Jusuf Nurkic hauled in 31 boards against them on Sunday.

The Lakers will still want to inch up the standings, as entering the play-in tournament as the 10th seed leaves them vulnerable to exiting the proceedings entirely with just one loss. But LeBron James almost always recognizes the occasion, so no one can ever count out the Purple and Gold for as long as he's in town.