Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 90 days 22 hours 25 minutes
The Lakers have won five straight at a time when the rest of the conference is slumping. The Suns and Clippers have both lost six straight. The Jazz are sliding, the Blazers with them. as a result, the Lakers aren't just in contact with the play-in, they're creeping up on the real live playoff teams. Just a couple games back of the five spot...
The day started poorly for the Lakers, who announced that Austin Reaves (hamstring) and Lonnie Walker IV (knee) will miss the next two weeks (at least), and meanwhile Troy Brown (quad) wouldn't be able to play Friday against the Hawks at Crypto. The Lakers were down so many bodies they signed veteran SG/SF Sterling Brown (not the actor), and had him suit up...
Kendrick Nunn chips in with 23. Is this the game that'll get him going?
After a genuinely horrendous 2-10 start to the season, the Lakers have managed to play winning basketball more than not. Now 17-21, they've moved themselves back into spitting distance of the magic 10 seed in the Western Conference. Not exactly the goal, but the bare minimum of what's required to have a shot at the postseason...
How much help does the supporting cast provide?
Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder leads a shorthanded Lakers squad to an improbable win
No LeBron James, no Anthony Davis, no Lonnie Walker IV, no Troy Brown Jr. in the second half... no problem for the Lakers. Behind 32 points from Dennis Schröder, the Lakers scored their most improbable win of the season, 112-109 over the Miami Heat at the Crypt. The Lakers played an incredibly gritty game, fighting off multiple pushes from a Heat squad playing basically at full strength...
Our friends at Betonline have put out a fresh set of odds for postseason awards, as teams near the halfway point of the NBA season (it's coming quickly, folks). What's interesting about the Lakers in this area is, primarily, that so few Lakers are even mentioned. Guys like Anthony Davis, who had briefly put themselves on the board for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, are now off it...
And what's out there for the Lakers on the trade market that might not cost an arm and a leg?
The Lakers needed a win in Charlotte to finish out the road trip, and they got it. 121-115 over the (very, very bad) Hornets, behind yet another MVP-caliber performance from LeBron James, whose hot streak is rolling on unabated. 43 points, 11 rebounds, six assists. 16-26 from the floor, including 0-5 from 3-point range, giving an idea of just how strong James was from inside the arc (and at the rim, particularly). Over the team's last 10 games, James is averaging 33...