When the Lakers go up against the Timberwolves today for the right to claim the seventh seed in the Western Conference, they will be at a decided advantage. They’re heavily favored not just because crypto.com Arena will be hosting the play-in match. More importantly, they will have a full rotation only too ready to consolidate their significant turnaround after the trade deadline with a postseason berth. Meanwhile, the visitors will be handicapped by the totally avoidable absence of starters Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels.
Indeed, the Lakers should be ashamed of themselves should they wind up suffering a setback today. It doesn’t matter that their provisional standing affords them another shot at the playoffs. They simply have no excuse to lose — not with Anthony Davis in peak form and LeBron James finally getting back on track following a lengthy period of convalescence from a right foot injury. And if there’s any proof of the efficacy of their most recent roster moves, it’s that they now boast of the best defense in the West.
Whether the Lakers’ progress translates to a second title in four years is, however, another matter altogether. If nothing else, their loss to the Clippers last week underscored their frailties. Never mind that it was their fifth game in eight days. The fact that they were battling for an outright berth should have had them geared up to show their best.
Not that James is complaining. Given the inauspicious start of the Lakers’ 2022-23 campaign, he isn’t wrong to note that their finish above .500 is “pretty cool.” Then again, he isn’t competing for mediocrity. He’s all about the hardware, especially at this point in his career. Which is why he and the rest of the purple and gold need to make the most of the new lease on life. After all, anything less than an outcome that sees the Larry O’Brien Trophy in his hands cannot but be deemed a failure.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
