The Los Angeles Lakers showed a lot of fight in their dominant win over the Brooklyn Nets the last time we saw the team on the court. LeBron James was out with a groin injury, which prompted Anthony Davis to deliver an incredible performance that the Nets had no answer for.
The catalyst for that win came on Saturday when the team had a team meeting after a film session where Anthony Davis took the role of a leader and started holding everyone around him accountable for the Lakers’ 2-10 start, including himself. Positive contributions from the likes of LeBron James, Darvin Ham, and Patrick Beverley might have rejuvenated the team for a strong run this season.
New story: As the Lakers’ schedule gives them a break this week, the team opened up about Saturday’s charged film session that started to help them get back on track. AD: “Conversations that a team that was 2-10 should have, you know?” https://t.co/gNGkbcYKvz
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 17, 2022
Anthony Davis: “We had conversations that a team that was 2-10 should have, you know? About what each player can do better, what we were going to do better collectively. Coaching staff. Medical staff. Everybody. We just wanted to figure this thing out leading up to the day of the Brooklyn game. And it worked out for us.”
“Lot of emotions. Guys voicing their opinions. Some back and forth. But it was all for the nature of trying to get better. So even though it might be a back-and-forth, it was, ‘OK, I hear what you’re saying, you hear what I’m saying. So now, what’s the solution?’ Instead of just constantly butting heads. So it was some good dialogue.” (h/t ESPN)
Coach Ham praised the team for coming together and finding solutions, Russell Westbrook was happy with the direction the team was headed in, while Patrick Beverley highlighted the impact that LeBron has on the roster.
Darvin Ham: “Everybody chimes in. No idea is a bad idea. The only bad idea is not having an idea. We all pour in together. No one is taking personal shots or talking about attacking people’s character — it’s just attacking what we can do better. We attack the mistakes. How can we be better, how can we be a better basketball group.”
Russell Westbrook: “I think things are moving in the right direction. That’s all you can ask for.”
Patrick Beverley: “You got to give a lot of credit to LeBron,” Beverley said. “He started to get on guys in the right way and guys in the locker room responded. So, credit his leadership.” (h/t ESPN)
With their next game against a bad team in the Detroit Pistons, the Lakers will take it upon themselves to ensure they can walk out with a win and start rectifying their horrible start to the season.
Can The Lakers Save Their Season?
All that the Lakers want to do is make sure they are in the playoffs, for which they need to target a top-10 seed. That will be a challenge considering there are 11 teams looking to compete in the West already, with the Utah Jazz pleasantly surprising everyone.
The Lakers will have to find a way to be good enough to climb out of a 3-10 hole and then have enough wins on the season to get ahead of teams that have far better records than them already. Even a trade to send Westbrook to Indiana for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner might not be enough.
The Lakers need to hope that this meeting had that profound an impact on their season. Otherwise, they are back to where they started.
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