Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers generally controlled the proceedings against a shorthanded Golden State squad, missing Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins. They won (124-111) on a night where Anthony Davis and LeBron James scored 25 points combined. Combined! They won with three-point shooting from a guy who is supposed to be a three-point shooter (Malik Beasley, 7-11 from downtown en route to 25 points), and solid performances up and down from a supporting cast whose floor is significantly higher now than it was a month ago. The group, even while they try and figure each other out, just makes more sense, and can operate with far more coherence.

The Lakers have put the football down at different times this season, and encouraged Lakers fans to go ahead and kick it. And generally speaking, they've pulled that football away, turning all those faithful fans to swing at empty air and end up on their backs, like Lucy does to Charlie Brown.

Every. Time.

Thursday, maybe things started to turn.

The only downside? D'Angelo Russell left after turning his right ankle in a genuinely fluky play during the first half. He's listed as day-to-day, and Darvin Ham said the Lakers don't currently believe he'll need an MRI or any additional testing after x-rays were negative (as they usually are for ankle sprains). That Russell spoke to the media was itself significant, because generally speaking injured players, or badly injured ones at least, don't.

Hopefully Russell won't be out long, because Thursday was the first time all season the Lakers fielded a full roster. No injuries to speak of. Heading into Dallas on Sunday, they have a chance to keep Ham's Six Seed Quest alive, and more importantly build some significant confidence. The type that, in addition to better play, can fuel a run of five or six in a row, or eight of 11, 10 of 13, and so on. That sort of move could bump the Lakers up significantly, and quickly, in the West.

And while that might seem pie in the sky, it's important to remember that the team is, legitimately, brand new. It's not the same bunch that was incapable of sustained excellence earlier this year. Long winning streaks are probably not coming, but Thursday at least the Lakers showed that talking about them as a playoff team isn't a ridiculous use of time.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers win, behind the supporting cast and the shooting of Malik Beasley.

SEGMENT 2: Russell is hurt, and hopefully not too bad, because he's bringing something valuable to the team in his second run in purple and gold.

SEGMENT 3: Austin Reaves, Mo Bamba and more! Dallas looks like a big opportunity, not just in the standings, but psychologically to really kick the Lakers into gear.

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