Lakers News: Expert Breaks Down Remarkable Recent Los Angeles Turnaround
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The Lakers in mid-November had seemed like a lost cause. The team was 2-10, and there was no sign of things getting better, barring a trade.
However, since that horrific start, the Lakers have been 17-11, and despite losing their superstar forward, Anthony Davis, they’ve gone 7-6 in 13 games without him and recently enjoyed a five-game win streak.
Everyone, even Laker fans, are shocked by how L.A. has been able to stay afloat, including Good Morning It’s Basketball writer Tom Zeller, who has broken down how Los Angeles has been able to make this turnaround throughout 40 games.
“I regret to inform you that the Los Angeles Lakers, who in recent weeks had been so bad they were actually too boring for major sports talk T.V., are back from the dead. You may have heard on occasion of his scoring outburst on his 38th birthday that LeBron is taking Father Time to overtime. You may have seen the words “Thomas Bryant” trending. You may have noticed Russell Westbrook breaking records for “most triple-doubles off the bench” — records that definitely did not exist before this season because who in the hell is getting triple-doubles off the bench? Russell Westbrook, that’s who. The Lakers have won five straight, starting with LeBron’s birthday party in Atlanta. Their latest win is their biggest: it came in a tight defense-optional track meet in Sacramento on Saturday, with the Lakers pulling out thanks to strong work from Bryant and Dennis Schroder. That was a big win because the Kings are one of the 10 teams the Lakers are chasing for a play-in or playoff spot.”
Amid this impressive streak by L.A., they’ve lost two key rotation players for some time. A.D. is still out and planning to remain as soon as possible, but Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker IV will miss some time due to injury.
However, LeBron has been playing at a superhero level, Thomas Bryant is snatching every board that comes his way, Russ is playing great off the bench, and Dennis Schroder has scored in double-digits in the last six games.
They fight, they’re competitive, and they’re kind of fun to watch, something that I didn’t think would be possible with this current core.
A ton of basketball is ahead of them, and the trade deadline is approaching, so we’ll see if the front office likes what they see or if they’ll improve the roster the best they can by then.
