The Los Angeles Lakers have continued their climb up the West standings with a strong 124-118 win over the Charlotte Hornets. The Lakers had a big first-half lead that the Hornets cut to single-digits, outplaying LA in the last 24 minutes of the contest. Nonetheless, Lakers fans were relieved and happy that the team managed to pull this one out.
Heading home with the W pic.twitter.com/gb5nIAfATt
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 6, 2024
Fans do not want to see D’Angelo Russell get traded now after his excellent form over the last month.
Not gon lie ima be upset if Lakers trade D’Lo
Idc idc 😂 love the way he’s playing confidently right now
— 👑𝔑𝔞𝔦👑 (@nai__denora) February 6, 2024
Fans were loving the show LeBron put up with some thunderous dunks.
LeBron having his own dunk contest today 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/ndaqiYoUBv
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) February 6, 2024
Fans commended both Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves for their incredible playmaking efforts on the night.
Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves both have 11 assists this game.
Don’t remember the last time a pair of Lakers had 10+ assists in the same game.
— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) February 6, 2024
Fans praised the incredible partnership of Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges in this game.
Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller when they saw Lakers on the schedule pic.twitter.com/o7gxB9KRIB
— BeastBron💜💛 (@bronisabeast) February 6, 2024
Brandon Miller went off in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points and almost leading the Hornets to a season-defining comeback win.
https://twitter.com/cjsweet567/status/1754689655906169282
Fans are cautious about the future of the team, as this was the last game the Lakers played before the trade deadline shuts.
The next time we see the Lakers play basketball, the trade deadline will have passed.
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) February 6, 2024
The Lakers saw Anthony Davis notch his third career triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. The highest scorer for them on the night was D’Angelo Russell with 28 points. LeBron James had an efficient 26 points if you ignore him going 0-5 on three-point shot attempts.
A two-headed monster led the Hornets. Miles Bridges had a 41-point night while Brandon Miller scored 33 points. Charlotte was without LaMelo Ball but was still competitive with strong performances from the bench like P.J. Washington’s 15 points and eight rebounds.
A Massive Trade Deadline For The Lakers
February 8, 2024, marks the NBA trade deadline, as teams will be unable to make any major changes to their roster after this Thursday. Since the start of the season, the Lakers have been expected to make major moves before the deadline and revamp their roster after an underwhelming start to the season. Rumors linking them to Zach LaVine have petered out and the likelihood of a Dejounte Murray trade looks slim.
The Lakers don’t want to acquire a ‘third-star’ unless they know the player will be a high-contributor who could be in the running for All-Star games and All-NBA selections. That player is just not available for the Lakers this trade window, and it’s likely they keep D’Angelo Russell and make marginal moves to improve the roster around the edges.
The primary trade target for the Lakers should be the Nets’ Dorian Finney-Smith right now. DFS is one of the most reliable frontcourt players in the NBA, providing hard defense while also stretching the floor. An even cheaper option than DFS could be his teammate, Royce O’Neale, providing the qualities of a 3-and-D forward.
The team could even explore trades to get a genuine backup center behind Anthony Davis, but that wouldn’t be a necessity. The Lakers have options and could reinforce any part of their lineup and it’d be a good move.
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