LeBron James dominated in front of the Las Vegas crowd watching the In-Season Tournament as the Lakers left the semi-finals with a 44-point win over the Pelicans. James commented on their Finals matchup with the Indiana Pacers, reminding everyone that we’re still just in December, so these wins are still a part of the grander picture.
“It’s still December, I’m not getting too crazy about the whole thing. I understand that this thing has been great, but it’s still December. It is another game for us to get better. We wanna try and win the game because we’re a team that wants to get better every time we go out there. We have another opportunity to do that.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1732985962639052825
The In-Season Tournament is a reflection of teams that can win consistently, at least within the tournament. All the games that the Lakers and Pelicans won tonight were a part of their overall standings as well. The Final will not be added to their regular season total, but outside of that, every win was needed for the Lakers.
The record implication of these games shows that teams don’t have any incentive to not compete because it’s the tournament. We saw teams go out of their way to try and win via point differential and stuff, mainly because everyone in the NBA is a competitor and wants to win everything on offer.
The Lakers and Pacers have a chance to become the first-ever In-Season Tournament champions, something that could one day be remembered as a history-defining achievement if the tournament stays on for years to come. Based on the hype it created this year, it’s safe to say this format is sticking around. But maybe the league can think of a better name like the Commisioner’s Cup that the WNBA has.
The Lakers Are Still Eyeing A Title In June
The In-Season Tournament will be a phenomenal achievement for whichever team wins it. The Pacers didn’t come into the season with championship expectations, so a win for them will be gigantic in establishing this team as a legitimate threat in the NBA. They’re in the playoff hunt in the East but aren’t looked at as contenders to win the whole thing.
That is not the case for the Lakers. They came into this season hoping to return to the mountaintop after two wasted seasons with Russell Westbrook. They improved on a team that went to the Conference Finals but shakily started the season due to various injuries. With the squad mostly healthy right now, there is a lot of excitement to see if they can enter the top of the West and contend for a title.
LeBron knows that a title is the goal and that’s what the Lakers are working towards. He’s previously said that the team is motivated to win the In-Season Tournament, but that win would all be a part of the process to hopefully lift the Larry O’Brien for the fifth time in James’ career and the 18th time in Lakers history.
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