The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 17-22 after their Thursday night loss to the Miami Heat, but center Dwight Howard found some positives to take away from the game.
Los Angeles remained in striking distance nearly the entire time and had a chance to take the victory in the fourth quarter. Despite the Lakers’ 20 turnovers, the team took the lead in the final period but could not execute down the stretch to close it out. Nevertheless, Kevin Ding tweeted that Howard believes the Lakers should not be too upset with the loss.
Even though the Lakers could not beat the Heat at Staples, they played very well against one of the best teams in the league.
Dwight liked Lakers’ energy and effort — and togetherness in coming back from shaky start.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) January 18, 2013
Dwight: “It’s not the end of the world. … No need for us to go home with our heads down.”
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) January 18, 2013
Regardless of Howard’s comments, the Lakers cannot afford any more moral victories this season as time is running out for this squad. Los Angeles is several games out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference and they need to make a strong push as the first half of the season is coming to an end.
Howard is certainly correct in saying that the Lakers should be happy with their performance, but the team needs results moving forward.