The Los Angeles Lakers secured a comfortable victory on Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards. They won all four quarters and held Washington to 11 points in the final frame, while Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Dorian Finney-Smith led the way on the scoreboard.
It was a quality showing for head coach JJ Redick and company, even though it came against the team with the worst record in basketball. But the Lakers have shown an ability to take their foot off the gas pedal and lose to teams they shouldn’t lose to.
That’s what makes a win like Tuesday something the team feels they can build off of. Because they did not look down at their opponent, went out and played hard and earned themselves an easier victory. That’s how Redick felt directly after the win.
“I think it just starts with a very professional approach from our team,” Redick said. “That was one of our more complete games, regardless of what time of season it was or who the opponent was. We just had a really professional approach. We executed at a pretty high level.
“Even the shots we were able to generate from three were great. We got some good looks and some good spacing that allowed us to attack where we didn’t finish. I thought it was a great offensive game for us, and we probably didn’t have an insane offensive rating game, but it was highly professional from us.
“I think that started with AD (Anthony Davis). His rolling tonight created a lot of offense for us [and] created offense for him at the rim. But just the force of the pace in which he rolled tonight, I thought was really good. And then, again, another 30-assist night for us where we really shared the basketball.”
LeBron echoed a similar sentiment, praising the way the Lakers competed and did their job regardless of who their opponent was.
“Our professionalism. We went out, we had a game plan, we executed that. Defensively, we were great,” James said. “We were in tune with what they wanted to do and what they tried to do, and offensively, we shared the ball and limited our turnovers a little bit.”
In a crowded Western Conference where one or two losses can be the difference between avoiding the Play-In Tournament or missing it altogether, every win matters. And that’s why best efforts are still required against a team like the Wizards.
At the halfway mark of L.A.’s season, they are 23-18 — on pace for 46 wins — and at the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. They are a half-game back of the L.A. Clippers for No. 5, one game up on the Dallas Mavericks at No. 7 and 2.5 games up on the Golden State Warriors at No. 11.
LeBron James pushing Lakers to make trades
Even with all of the positive signs above, it is clear that the Lakers are not championship contenders as currently constructed. Because of that, LeBron James has reportedly been urging the front office to make further deals to improve the roster behind the scenes.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
