LeBron James bets for the final 23 games of the Lakers’ regular season during his media availability over All-Star weekend.
“It’s been 23 of the most important games of my career — for a regular season,” James told reporters on Sunday. “That’s the type of mindset that I have, and I hope the guys coming back from the break will have.”
In their first game back from a bye week, the Lakers implemented James’ instructions, going 28-32 overall and 28-32 overall since the roster reshape, beating the Golden State Warriors 124-111 at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday. improved to 3-1. Multiple deals on the trading deadline. They are ranked 13th in the Western Conference, but just 1 1/2 games behind Golden State for the No. 10 seed and last spot in the play-in tournament.
In an interesting twist, James, who has a long track record of backing up his talk with remarkable performances, didn’t mince his own words this time around. He had his worst offensive game of the season, scoring a season-low 13 points on season-worst 20 percent shooting (5-for-20). In one sequence, he missed four point-blank shot attempts, first blew a layup in transition, and then missed three subsequent putbacks. He still found ways to impact the game, including nine rebounds and eight assists, but it was an uncharacteristic performance after such a bold announcement.
To compound matters, Anthony Davis scored only 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting while being held by Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, and the Warriors’ stellar assist defense. D’Angelo Russell, LA’s third substitute, had played just nine minutes in the first quarter before spraining his right ankle. Overall, the Lakers’ three best scorers combined for 27 points on 9-of-28 shooting. On paper, this was a game the Lakers should have lost.
But this is not the previous iteration of the Lakers. While the stars struggled, their revamped supporting cast stepped up significantly. Six other Lakers scored in double digits, led by freshman sharpshooter Malik Beasley, who drilled seven 3-pointers en route to 25 points. Their reserves scored a season-high 68 points, led by Austin Reeves, who had 17 points, including 13 in the third quarter. The team made a season-best 53.3 percent of its 3s (16 of 30), turning a season-long weakness into a strength.
“LeBron and Eddie didn’t go as far as they wanted to tonight, but we’re deep, and I think that’s the statement we want to make,” Beasley said. “If it’s not one player, it will be another player any night.”
This is the type of game that previous versions of the Lakers would have lost. For much of the past two seasons, they have been a top-heavy unit that required James and Davis to be spectacular every night. This season, they were 0–2 in two games James scored fewer than 20 points and 2–5 in seven games Davis failed to reach that mark.
But with the recent additions of Russell, Beasley, Jared Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, and Mo Bamba, the Lakers have the requisite depth, versatility, and firepower to better offset the poor performance of their stars.
“Adding those pieces … I think it brings more balance,” said Lakers head coach Darwin Hamm. “We have guys in that second unit that are in the starting lineup, and have played starter’s minutes, and closed games for us, and had big moments in the big games. So we have confidence in the entire roster. But this hands It’s a great shot we were able to take at the trade deadline.”
Asked about the Lakers’ 3-1 record as a freshman group, Reeves echoed what many holdover players are saying: The vibes around the team are at an “all-time high.”
“This is new energy,” Reeves said. “The new guys, each one of them brings something different to the team.”
Beasley’s 3-point shooting is very welcome for a group that currently ranks 28th in 3-pointers per game, 24th in 3-point attempts per game, and 26th in 3-point percentage. He ranks seventh in the NBA in 3-point makes (184) and fifth in 3-point attempts (507), with his ability to shoot out of the spot-up, relocation, and off screens in the Lakers’ offense. Unlocks new wrinkles. ,
Davis shared an anecdote about a shootaround about him and Beasley running a pindown screen that ended with Davis giving the ball in the post instead of taking it open. Davis said he pulled his new teammate aside and told him he had to take that shot. every time. Beasley had no such problem on Thursday.
“It’s great to have him out there and see 3s made on your behalf instead of made against you,” Ham said, calling Beasley a “sniper”.
The biggest gains for the supporting cast’s performances, other than boosted numbers in the win column, went to the rest of James and Davis. For the second game in a row, both the superstars logged in less than 30 minutes. The Lakers led by at least 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Davis believes resting the blowout win is “too big” and will allow him and James to shoulder a bigger burden later in the season — that is when the Lakers need them in the playoffs.
“We’re clicking,” Davis said. “… I think we have a complete squad where we can score a little run.”
The key to running remains health. Ham said X-rays of Russell’s ankle were negative and he would be reevaluated on Friday. Russell said after the game that the injury was not serious and that he did not expect to miss much time.
Hamm made it clear in his pregame news conference that the plan is for James, Davis, and the rest of the group to play every game the rest of the season — including back-to-back. Players will sit out only if they are injured. There is a gray area with James, as he has been battling a foot injury throughout the season and thus could technically sit out any time with the Lakers listing him as injured. However, it appears that the Lakers’ plan is to get James and Davis to play as many of the remaining 22 games as possible. James, who talked about the shootaround, did not speak to the media after the game.
The Lakers now begin an important three-game road trip to Dallas (32-29), Memphis (35-23), and Oklahoma City (28-30). LA is a combined 1-3 against those teams this season, though two of the three losses were by four points or less. All three games are important, but the Thunder game is especially important given that they are one game ahead of the Lakers in the standings, and another Thunder win will clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Haim is preaching the importance of living in the moment and focusing on incremental progress. He doesn’t want the Lakers to get ahead of themselves and ignore an opponent or lose because they’re not ready, sabotaging the progress they’ve made as a group recently.
Their margin for error remains nonexistent from a standings perspective. He needs to win as many matches as possible. So far, they appear up to the task, approaching the post-break run with a sense of urgency that James publicly demanded last week.
“I think people know what’s in hand,” Ham said. “They know we don’t have any more time or games to waste. We have to make the most of each day.