The Lakers push for the playoffs
Will the Lakers make the playoffs with their newly acquired roster?
By Gary Guillory
D'Angelo Russell hypes up the crowd after hitting a three-pointer
The Los Angeles Lakers could be headed in the right direction with the acquisitions of Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Davon Reed, Mo Bamba and D’ Angelo Russell.
The team gathered what they were desperately needing before the trade deadline ended, recently overcoming the Pelicans in a much-needed blowout win before the All-Star break with the roster at full strength. It is very clear that the Lakers are pushing for a playoff spot and are looking to do so with this roster.
The Lakers' first impression of their renovated roster showed a ton of potential and it guides the team in a new direction. In October, this roster looked very different and many fans were unsure if that team was headed in the right direction. Luckily the Lakers' GM, Rob Pelinka, was able to improve the roster that had suffered many problems.
Pelinka was able to bring youth, three-point shooting, wing defense and rebounding depth to this roster, which was many of the team's problems before the trade deadline.
Pelinka summarized the trade deadline by saying “The Lakers have added five core players that are 26 and under that can both help the Lakers win now and potentially be part of a young core to build with.”
Malik Beasley and D'Angelo Russell hive fives LeBron James and Anthony Davis
At this point of the 2022-23 season, the Lakers are going to treat every game as a must-win as they attempt to move their way up in the Western Conference standings. One of the major factors for the Lakers to keep winning games is their lineups.
Head Coach Darvin Ham was asked about the change in the starting lineup and he explained that it was about creating balance.
“Same thought process at the beginning of the year. There’s gonna be games where Dennis and DLo finish together [...] Different guys have different moments. And we were great defensively. I think you know, I expected just to get better and better and better. But yeah, just to have that balance was the biggest reason.”
LeBron James returned to the lineup after missing three games due to an ankle injury and told reporters, “Just knowing there was no structural damage. No stress reaction, no stress fracture, no bone chips, breaks, or anything like that. It was just something that happened, just wear down [...] My ankle and foot feel really good right now.”
James also told reporters about how he felt about the new lineup and moving forward saying, “I think we’re going to continue to build off tonight [...] we got a lot of work to do still and you know every game is going to be tough for us especially going on a stretch we know on the type of push that we need to make it's going to take a lot of commitment from us going down the stretch so I'll look forward to that”.
Malik Beasley lobs it up and Anthony Davis puts it down
With the Lakers heading into the All-Star break with a win, it should give them confidence and a morale boost moving forward. The new starting lineup and rotations show what the team is capable of and it will hopefully end with a playoff spot.