The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the foundational teams in American sports. The NBA franchise has won seventeen championships, and has had many of the games all-time greats like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and so many others.
But, the franchise, which currently boasts superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, was dreadful to start the season. They started 2-10, and were the laughingstock of the league.
They played .500 basketball for a big stretch after that as Lebron chased the scoring record. But the Lakers lost Lebron when he picked up an injury literally minutes after breaking Kareem’s record.
The team made some huge moves at the deadline, dumping a washed Russell Westbrook and acquired good role players like Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, and DeAngelo Russell. That move has surely paid off.
Going into Friday night, the Lakers were 7-3 since the trade and had made up considerable ground in the Western Conference Standings. But, Friday’s game was going to be a challenge, as LeBron is still out, and Anthony Davis was held to only eight points.
But, the Lakers got it done anyways.
Faced adversity. #LakersWin@Dloading: 28 pts, 9 ast@DS17_FG: 23 pts, 7 ast, 4 stl
Austin Reaves: 18 pts, 5 ast pic.twitter.com/GEum5PX0dy— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 11, 2023
And now, the team is right in the thick of the playoff hunt. They sit in 9th currently, which would get them into the play-in games, but they’re only one game back of sixth place, which would avoid the play-in altogether. And, they’ve done all of this without Lebron.
Naturally, Lakers fans are pumped up.
Imagine if this team makes the 6th seed and LeBron gets a whole 45 days to rest until the playoffs…
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 11, 2023
If Bron comes back healthy NOBODY wants to see this team in the playoffs 💜💛 #Lakers pic.twitter.com/qfsBSxPIV8
— Parris (@vicious696) March 11, 2023
The Lakers take on the red-hot Knicks on Sunday.