The Lakers Are Surging at the Right Time
The Lakers are 7-1 in their last 8 games and are playing some of the best basketball they’ve played since November.
It was just two weeks ago when the Lakers had that deflating three-game losing streak coming out of the All-Star break. They got blown out by Boston and fumbled two games down the stretch against Orlando and Phoenix.
It felt like a season low, morale-wise. Frustration engulfed the locker room as they slipped to the 6th seed in the West. They’ve since turned things around in a dramatic way, winning 7 of their last 8 with the one loss coming against the Denver Nuggets, who they’ll face again on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
In this 8-game stretch, they rank 2nd in offensive rating, 7th in defensive rating, and 2nd in net rating, according to Trevor Lane. A massive improvement in play over the last few weeks. They had two huge statement wins (double-digit) back-to-back against the Knicks and Wolves, proving they are capable of beating some of the better teams in the league.
Austin Reaves Stated He’s Seen More Accountability in Their Recent Stretch of Games
In an interview with The Athletic, Reaves highlights the effect of the team holding each other more accountable:
“I think accountability is being held — not more so from coach to player, just person to person. I’m not saying I’m running around holding people accountable, but if you say something to somebody, it’s not, ‘Throw your hands up in the air.’ It’s not like, ‘Poor pitiful me.’ It’s, ‘OK, yeah, I’ll do it.’”
Stellar Performances Led by the Don
Luka Doncic just dropped 51 points in last night’s win vs the Chicago Bulls, his first 50-point game as a Laker. He made 17 of his 31 shots and 9 of his 13 three-point attempts to go along with 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. He also had 31 in their win vs Minnesota, 35 vs New York, and 44 against Indiana.
The Lakers starters, led by Doncic’s 51, scored 137 of the Lakers’ 142 points against the Bulls. Reaves himself had 30 points, following up his 31-point performance against the Wolves. DeAndre Ayton had a huge game, making 10 of 13 shots with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Hachimura had himself 15 points on 6-10 shooting. LeBron James, in his first game back after missing the last 3 games, scored 18 points and had 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.
The Lakers look to improve to 42-25 tomorrow night against the Nuggets and hang on to the 3rd seed in the West.
It will be a crucial game with huge implications for the Conference standings going forward.
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