The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be turning things around this season. They have won seven of their last nine games, have made a trade to build a more balanced roster, and have continued to get stellar play from their superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Over the last nine games, the Lakers have the seventh-best offense in the NBA and the 10th-best defense. They are one of only four teams to be in the top 10 of both during this stretch, with the other three being the teams with the three best records in basketball: the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
The great stretch started after LeBron returned from a two-game absence and after the NBA Cup break. And he is averaging 27.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game in that stretch. He spoke about what he thinks has happened with the team and how they can continue to evolve.
“We just wanna continue to put the work in,” James said. “There’s no substitution for work and even though we don’t have a lot of time to be on the practice court, anytime we have film sessions, anytime we have shootarounds, anytime we have anything, our ballroom walkthroughs on the road, we have to take advantage of it.
“I love the fact that we can take our film sessions from a previous game or previous matchup and then apply it right to the game. Guys are holding themselves accountable and it helps.”
LeBron says he’s seeing improvements on both sides of the court, and that is contributing to him feeling better about the team in recent weeks.
“Defensively, yeah. We’ve gotten better. And then offensively, we had that rut where we were pretty bad, we’re trying to improve there too. So it’s a good sign.”
The Lakers star admitted the team is still working on some things offensively, especially with integrating two new players. But he also is confident because he knows the team is fully aware of what the scheme is and how it’s supposed to look.
“I don’t know, we all kind of know where we’re supposed to be. Obviously Doe Doe and Shake, they’re only been three games in but they’re gonna continue to get better and better with what we want to do offensively. But a lot of space, AR is the point of attack, AD is our main focus offensively and we’re all just working off of that.”
The Lakers are looking like a much better basketball team over their last nine. And while there is a chance they face another rough patch at some point, they do look like legitimate playoff contenders that may have a chance to escape the Play-In Tournament in its entirety.
LeBron James discusses motivation to keep playing
No one can ever question the amount of work LeBron James has put into being one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He has accomplished everything there is to do at this level, but he still continues to push himself simply because he loves the game of basketball.
“My motivation is just, I don’t even know at this point. I just love the game,” LeBron said. “I love to play the game of basketball. I got an opportunity this summer to be in France and to represent Team USA and that was an amazing opportunity for me and my family being in Paris and bringing home gold. And then just coming back here, I just love the game.
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