LeBron James truly told all during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday, one of them being the keys toward the rest of the Lakers season. The purple and gold enter a prime time matchup with the Pacers at fifth in the West with a 43-28 record.
James touched on the rest of the Lakers’ season toward the end of the episode, discussing the main priorities with the regular season winding down.
“Obviously, it goes without saying for any team, but health,” James said. “That’s the most important for our team. We are not in a position where we can afford anybody to go down.”
The Lakers just wrapped up a brutal stretch of six games in eight nights, which they went 3-3 in. They played three consecutive back-to-backs, two of which came against the Nuggets and Bucks. At one point, the Lakers barely had enough bodies for a ten-man rotation, forcing two-way contract players to step up off the bench. The team has much-needed reinforcements with James and Rui Hachimura back, but now, it will be up to everyone to remain healthy and return to high-level basketball that got them to no. 2 in the West.
LeBron also acknowledged how he, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves must be “clicking at the same time,” even if the shots aren’t falling.
“When I say clicking, we have to be in tune on what we gotta do every single night,” he said, “because we gotta make sure everybody is in the right place every single game.”
That chemistry not only extends to the Lakers’ top three players, but everyone down the line.
“We have to make sure we have everybody in tune because we know our coaching staff is gonna give us the game plan,” James added. “JJ [Redick] is not gonna send us out there on a wild goose chase. … He and his coaching staff, they’re gonna make sure we know what the hell to do in order to get the job done and then it’s up to us to go out there and get it done.”
There’s no doubt James, Doncic and Reaves hold several keys toward the team’s home stretch, but a couple other players will be pivotal in the team’s future success.
Given the Lakers’ injury history, Dorian Finney-Smith’s versatility is vital going forward. DFS is coming off of his 17th start as a Laker, where he tallied 14 points with four three-pointers against the Magic. His ability to jolt the team’s offense while picking up opposing wings (and, on occasion, bigs) will be key for a team struggling to get back into a rhythm at full strength. Even in his first couple of months, DFS has fit right into the team’s system, and his chemistry with Doncic will only enhance his contributions to LA.
The Lakers will also need Hachimura to be productive post-injury. After missing 12 games due to patellar tendinopathy, he hasn’t looked the same so far—Hachimura even noted that his knee was “70 to 80%” healthy upon his return. The 27-year-old three-level scorer has logged just five and three points in his last two games, shooting 4/10 from the field and 1/6 from three. He is starting Wednesday’s game against Indiana, with the perfect opportunity to find his groove again and return to early-season form.
The race to the postseason intensifies by the day, and the Lakers have several must-win games against Western Conference opponents. After a Thursday duel at Chicago, their remaining foes reside in their own conference. Among the biggest games to watch are versus the Grizzlies (Mar. 29, 4th in the West), Rockets (Mar. 31 & Apr. 11, 2nd in the West), Warriors (Apr. 3, 6th in the West) and Thunder (Apr. 6 & 7, 1st in the West). Memphis is currently half a game ahead of the Lakers, while the Warriors are 2.5 games behind LA in an ever-changing conference. Houston, a team that’s catapulted into a top-three seed, is currently three games ahead of the Lakers.
Though Redick and the Lakers don’t appear concerned with seeding, their upcoming games will be the difference between starting the playoffs at home or on the road. But as with everything toward the end of the regular season, anything can happen in the Association.
