The new-look Los Angeles Lakers turned some heads over the last two months of the regular season, posting a 16-7 record after the All-Star break, the second-best record during that span, while putting together one of the NBA’s best defenses.
But, of course, the real test for any unit comes during playoff time.
So far, the Lakers have done an OK job, taking Game 1 of their first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies before dropping Game 2. They have stolen home-court advantage from Memphis, and they are heading home for the next two games.
For this season to turn out to be any type of success, the Lakers not only need to win both Game 3 and Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena, but they need to start to show some real consistency and focus.
They were outworked and outhustled in Game 2 on Wednesday, which led some, such as Magic Johnson, to accuse them of being unprepared. Perhaps they underestimated the challenge they faced with Ja Morant out for Memphis, or perhaps they simply got beat by a team that needed Game 2 more.
Regardless, the Purple and Gold need to put behind them the inexcusable, uninspired losses they had every now and then down the stretch. Setbacks at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks seemed to illustrate to some a tendency to become overconfident or even casual in certain situations.
There is no room for any of that come playoff time. If the Lakers are truly becoming a championship team, as some have claimed lately, they need to take care of business and not leave anything to chance.
That would mean eliminating the Grizzlies in no more than six games in this series after taking a 3-1 lead in the coming days.
The time is now for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and their new supporting cast, and they need to make the most of this golden opportunity, especially with no clear-cut favorite in the Western Conference right now.
