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Dave McMenamin
LOS ANGELES– After the Lakers liquidated their last home video game of the normal period by directing the Rockets 140-109 on Friday evening to secure theNo 3 seed in the Western Conference, Austin Reaves joked that the group’s project, sometimes, seemed like 5 periods in one.
All the ups and downs and weave Los Angeles sustained given Reaves with quality as he expected the postseason.
“I feel like we could win a championship, to be honest with you,” Reaves stated.
Luka Doncic, that racked up 39 factors on 13-of-19 capturing via 3 quarters Friday, concurred with Reaves.
“That’s our only goal,” Doncic stated. “I think we have the team to do it.”
The Lakers ensured to appreciate their success Friday evening.
Coach JJ Redick needed to become a kelly environment-friendly Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt prior to his postgame press conference after being taken in the storage locker space as gamers pounded him with ice pails to commemorate the group’s 50th win.
“The whole locker room is literally water,” Rui Hachimura stated with a smile. “Straight water.”
Hachimura stated Redick informed the group that after he was worked with in June, leaving a growing job as an NBA broadcaster and podcaster, he established 2 objectives for himself: to win 50 video games and to safeguard theNo 3 seed; 76 of the NBA’s 78 champs were theNo 3 seed or much better.
On Friday, he completed both.
“Just incredibly proud of our team,” Redick stated after excusing the $17,000 in problems he approximated the Lakers created to the storage locker space rug. “It’s an accomplishment to win 50 games in the regular season in any year. I think particularly in this year, in this Western Conference, it is. And it’s a credit to our players. Each one at different points in time has contributed to winning. They’ve all participated in a winning culture.”
Though Doncic has actually become Los Angeles’ finest gamer down the stretch, this Lakers group reached this factor with LeBron James blazing a trail for the previous 7 years.
James, that left the video game after installing 14 factors and 8 helps in 22 mins prior to showing up to fine-tune his left hip/groin location, is “fine,” according toRedick The 22-year professional left the sector without talking to press reporters yet congratulated the team with an article on X after the video game.
“Man I was going to say something but it’s useless at this point in my career!” James created. “Anyways more important CONGRATULATIONS JJ on a 50 win season in the WEST & Post Season nod!”
Though it is uncertain what James was especially describing when he created that he wished to “say something,” previous Detroit Pistons wonderful Isiah Thomas had actually slammed him for undergoing his individual exercise 5 hours prior to tipoff without a t shirt on throughout NBA television’s insurance coverage of the video game.
“I just totally, 100% object to this,” Thomas stated when the electronic cameras revealed James’ very early pregame regimen. “I just think the professionalism in our NBA league has diminished so much.”
It is additionally uncertain which group Los Angeles will certainly encounter in the preliminary. The Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets all have an opportunity to safeguard theNo 6 seed in the West, and secure the Lakers as a challenger, heading right into the last 2 days of the normal period this weekend break.
For currently, the Lakers will certainly take a trip to play the Portland Trail Blazers in the regular-season ending Sunday– and will definitely hold up the mass of their turning gamers– and after that have a week off prior to organizing Game 1 of their first-round collection next weekend break.
“The good part of the season is coming, so you got to stay ready, got to stay locked in, but for sure, the rest is going to be great for me,” Doncic stated.
It will certainly be the very first time the Lakers open the playoffs with a home video game given that 2010-11, Phil Jackson’s last period as instructor. The Lakers were theNo 1 seed in 2019-20, yet the postseason was played in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida.
And they will certainly have theNo 1 all-time playoff factors scorer in James and theNo 2 gamer in playoff racking up standard in Doncic.
“It’s not just me and LeBron,” Doncic stated. “We have a great team around us; everybody helps us in so many ways. So if we want to win the championship, it’s going to take all of us.”
