The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off one of the best wins of their season as they overcame a tricky Utah Jazz matchup and walked away with a 138-122 win. LeBron James was out for the game, but Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell had iconic individual performances.
Hachimura’s 36-point career-high gained a lot of attention from the team on social media as well as after the game. Fans think team chemistry is high after LeBron, Christian Wood, and Jarred Vanderbilt all sent out tweets complimenting Rui, while Russell remarked about his career-high 17 assists on a rough scoring night.
Chemistry LOADING 💜💛💯 pic.twitter.com/0wA02DV2cE
— 🏆LakersGuru🏆 (@GuruLakers) February 15, 2024
The Lakers looked like a united front against the Jazz, with the roster troubles from December and January already in the rearview mirror. They have won six of their last seven games and have gone 11-5 over their last 16 games. Given the team fell under .500 in December, heading into the All-Star break with a 30-26 record is an achievement. But the job isn’t over.
The Western Conference playoff race is intense right now, with 10 teams batting for the top six seeds. The Lakers are capable of making a deep playoff run from the play-in tournament, as the current No. 9 seed, but the team has to be targeting a top-six seed. They’re currently 3.5 games behind the No. 6 and No. 5 seeds New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns.
Continuity Has Been Key Behind The Lakers Success
The Lakers have bemoaned injury troubles for most of the season, with even LeBron James recently saying the team needs health if they want to make a playoff run. With rotational players such as Cam Reddish and Jarred Vanderbilt currently injured, the Lakers have found their groove behind a consistent rotation. Their starting lineup of D’Lo, Reaves, LeBron, Hachimura, and AD has been undefeated together.
Rui Hachimura spoke to the media after his career-high night and revealed that their new lineup continuity has helped the team find the form we saw in the playoffs last year.
“I’ve been telling em, like, this is who we are. We’ve been trying like a lot of different things, lineups, all this stuff. But this is the lineup we had in the playoffs, and that’s how we won. So, you know, it’s that simple.”
The belief within the Lakers locker room is high, as even rotational player Christian Wood called the team a top-six caliber roster.
“We’re gonna try to get into the playoffs. We need to come back, finish off strong. Right now, we’re 9th in the West, but we’re a top-six team. I think if we come back with the attitude of trying to stay consistent and trying to stack wins together, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”
The Lakers will look to maximize their remaining 29 games this season in a push for a top-six seed. All top six teams are flirting with a 50-win pace this season, so that may be a steep challenge for the Lakers. But if they can build on the strengths they’ve unlocked in February, they’ll be a team to be reckoned with.
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