While the Los Angeles Lakers were unable to end their final road trip of the 2018-19 NBA season on a high note, it appears Luke Walton is pleased with how his team played.
The Lakers were able to secure a dominant win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Unfortunately, they followed it up with a 119-103 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Despite the split, there were plenty of positives for Los Angeles to take away from both games. It seems Walton is taking an optimistic approach to the final stretch of the season.
While Walton felt the Lakers could have executed their game plan better, he did not question the team’s effort considering all of the injuries, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Not upset at the guys at all. I really do think they gave everything they had. Again, they went out there and competed, competed, and competed. That’s what we’re asking them to do.”
Walton’s comments regarding the team’s effort are certainly understandable considering it has been a cause for concern at times throughout the 2018-19 NBA season. Fortunately, it appears that has not been the case as of late after strong showings in their recent road trip.
It is no secret the Lakers have not had much to hang their hat on this season after being eliminated from playoff contention a while back. Regardless, they have managed to find a way to secure some victories lately after winning five of their last seven games
Unfortunately, the team’s success has come much later than the team had hoped for. As a result, there has been plenty of speculation regarding the future of Walton as the head coach in Los Angeles.
Rumors have been swirling about Walton’s job security for quite some time now after the Lakers fell vastly short of expectations this season. Despite all the noise, Walton is adamant about continuing to move forward as if he will still be in charge come next season.
