Lakers News: LA Twitter Ecstatic After Team's Third Straight Win

Last night, your Los Angeles Lakers vanquished the visiting Toronto Raptors 122-112 in a stellar comeback effort.

Newly-returned Lakers starting point guard D'Angelo Russell, one of the centerpieces of the team's active trade deadline, was the star of the show, scoring 28 points while shooting 10-of-17 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line.

LA fans took to Twitter following the victory to celebrate the insane improvement of the club from its pre-trade deadline days where it was doomed to let Russell Westbrook ruin games late:

Going from Russell Westbrook bricks to D’angelo Russell daggers pic.twitter.com/XZTRH5b2Kl
— ⚡️ (@washedG0AT) March 11, 2023

Fan Mink Flow made a very apt "Spongebob Squarepants" comparison between the hyper-efficient scoring of D-Lo and Russell Westbrook's chucking (the ex-All-Star is shooting .427/.295/.665 this season):

D’Angelo Russell scoring 15 vs Russell Westbrook scoring 15 for the Lakers pic.twitter.com/NNX0n0ciDO
— Mink Flow (@currypistonn) March 11, 2023

The D'Angelo Russell-vs.-Russell Westbrook comps came fast and furious last night:

D’Angelo Russell makes me realise how bad Russell Westbrook was for this team 😭😭😭😭
— Tarik Dugum (@tarikdugum) March 11, 2023

Westbrook's decline is something that the Clippers are only just now appreciating.

All Lakers' Noah Camras weighed in on what has been an insanely rewarding trade thus far. LA has gone 8-3 since team vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka added D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, and Mo Bamba (okay, fine, and Davon Reed) in the 24 hours leading up to the February 9th trade deadline:

The Lakers really got D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley, got rid of Russell Westbrook and only gave up one protected first-round pick.

That could be one of the greatest fleeces in NBA history.

Rob Pelinka deserves his flowers. He saved the Lakers season.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) March 11, 2023

Another fan broke down all of Pelinka's deals leading up to the trade deadline. The only solid contributor sacrificed at a reasonable price was former LA center Thomas Bryant. Patrick Beverley still has value as an NBA player, but not for what the Lakers were paying him.

Now that the Lakers seem to be en route to at least a play-in tournament appearance, Gil's Arena podcast cohost Josiah Johnson represented LA-as-gatecrashers:

Lakers pulling up to the playoffs pic.twitter.com/exNW4ETAou
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) March 11, 2023

At 33-34 and with just the ninth seed in the West, the Lakers still have plenty of work left in front of them. But they are deservedly riding high right now, and it appears quite possible this current club, even without LeBron James, can at least maintain its current standing in this five-week home stretch of the regular season.

The Clippers, meanwhile, lost their first five straight games with Russell Westbrook starting, but have righted the ship somewhat and won the last two.

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