Optimism Discussion: The Laker's Sky Is Not Falling

i think we're likely to miss the play-in. honestly, even with lebron it wasn't necessarily a given, and i was actually counting on him and/or AD missing at least a few more games this year.

that said, i think lebron's injury actually takes some pressure off of everyone. maybe we can use that looseness to steal some unexpected wins and sneak in. as others have said, this is a chance for guys to step up. does rui want a bigger contract (he's looking at mle, max right now)? what about russell? beasley want an extension? schroder want to turn some heads on those teams with cap space? if we win some games and make the play-in, i think some individual guys can definitely up their value, so there's that motivation, too.

bummed about lebron's injury, but i'm still pretty excited about the talent we've acquired and the options presented by that.

 

That's helpful

 

who are we guarding besides the Aussie wiz?

 

as always when AD is out: nobody.

 

Despite Bacon's best effort, we won.

 

Over the last 4 games, Reaves is 19 for 25 from the field. Not bad.

Not bad at all. I also love how old skool he looks when he stands at the FT line and hits 'em at 88% this year.

Dennis had a crappy 1st half, and I thought he was going to limp off for 2 weeks also, then his 2nd half was gold. Huge.

LWIV got to the line: shot more FTs than anyone. Our FT points go WAY down with both AD and the Old Man out; need someone else to get to the line.

Are we still in this? Asking for a fiend.

 

Yessiiiiir

Great win. This team is FUN! We were without our 3 best guys, it's crazy. A month ago we would get torched!
Portland lost too. We are ahead of them and OKC. I think both of them don't catch us. Upfront we have Pels and Jazz that I think we can pass. Then it's a toss with Wolves, it would be nice to get the 8th seed to have that extra game cushion in the play-in.

5 home games coming up, Memphis and Knicks are the toughest matchups, but Toronto, Minny and Warriors are also fighting for places, big matches coming up. We need to win at least 3 of those, hopefully 4.

 

Great win without our big guns.

 

this was the definition of a team win - I loved every second of it.

Every game is must win now...especially the next 5 games.

 

i think it was a fun win because we got the thrill of getting a win during the development years without actually being in the development years.

and we got to see that okc is as rudderless without their lone star as we are without both of ours (and our #3!).

for me, i've just enjoyed seeing more ball and player movement since the trade deadline. less lebron dribbling up top, less AD catching beyond the arc and wondering what to do now.

if we trotted last night's lineup out for 82 games, we'd win 17 of them. but we won last night. cool.

 

I think the Reaves injury has been undersold even by the Laker fanbase who loves him: the way he's played including against OKC and pretty much the whole season (except for a bit of rough patch after he the wall a bit) and the Lakers would be above .500 with a chance to get out of the playin.

 

Mind bottling, what changed?

 

Funny enough, Clips are starting to have 3rd quarter problems now.

 

AD brought it and the supporting cast stepped up. Much needed win.