The depth of the Los Angeles Lakers has been a talking point for the team heading into this season, with the front office giving LeBron James and Anthony Davis capable role players. However, due to injuries, L.A. could never reap the rewards of having a well-balanced roster.
Fast forward to the end of the regular season, the Lakers are still missing rotational pieces in Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood. But, the purple and gold need to push on without them and this is the healthiest they have been in a while.
All things considered, the Lakers were able to stack enough wins to position themselves as the No. 7 seed once again. The reason behind these wins was the role players and James is satisfied with how everybody is contributing heading into the playoffs, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“That’s been my tone all season. It’s been if we can get healthy or when we’re healthy, how healthy we can get is gonna determine how well we play. This is about as close to healthy as we’ve been and we still are without a big piece in Vando. But tonight we showcased what we’re able to do both offensively and defensively. We got a good group going right now, good rotations, good playing and guys are coming in ready to go.”
While it is nice to see everyone contribute, when it comes to the postseason, James and Davis need to carry a majority of the workload on both sides of the ball. Now that it is high-stakes basketball, the 39-year-old is not pacing himself due to the dire nature of playoff basketball:
“Ain’t no more pace. Pace yourself for what? It’s a sprint now. We already went through the marathon. I do whatever it takes… The season is over with, so it’s about just winning games.”
This is especially the case as the Lakers have to prepare themselves to take on the defending champion Denver Nuggets. If L.A. wants to achieve the goal of winning a championship, they have to beat Denver at some point during this postseason run and everyone is going to need to do their part if they want to have a chance of pulling off this upset.
LeBron James: Lakers must play ‘mistake-free basketball’ to defeat Nuggets
Previously losing the last eight matchups to the Nuggets, it is evident that the Lakers have essentially no room for error. That is magnified even more with the playoffs and LeBron James knows that by saying L.A. needs to play ‘mistake-free basketball’ to defeat Denver.
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!