LeBron James and the Lakers are playing under the biggest spotlight in the league. Every win, every loss, there is both criticism and praise — support and negativity. Recently, the Lakers have been on an especially impressive tear, winning games without the presence of Anthony Davis, who hasn’t played since January 7th.
When asked about how the team feels in light of their success (sans one of their best players), LeBron seemed to fire back at the chatter that has been spread by the critics and naysayers the past few weeks.
No, because we can’t beat teams with winning records. That’s what they say, right? … It’s good wins for us. It’s really good wins for us… It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a playoff team, not a playoff team, it’s just about that moment right then and there. You want to take that challenge no matter if the team is in the playoffs or the team is not in the playoffs.
We lost to a team the other day that was sub-.500, but we don’t go into games saying ‘they’re above .500, they’re below .500. We say ‘this is a team that could beat us if we don’t play to our potential, and that’s how we approach every game. We just try to zero in on that game plan and then move forward. We had a great game plan tonight, the coaching staff gave us a great game plan and we executed.
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1218754154073477120
The quote is a direct response to those in the community who have doubted the Lakers’ dominance as a team. Their apparent “failure” to beat the best teams is reason to pause for many. But James doesn’t seem concerned with the wins and losses of other teams. The Lakers will try to give 100% regardless of who’s in front of them.
As for their latest stretch, there’s really not much more to say. They are coming together in light of the absence of their best player, and that’s not an easy thing to do.
Expect the Lakers to be major players this postseason.
