Ever since the players they acquired in the Russell Westbrook trade debuted, the Los Angeles Lakers have been gradually building the type of momentum they haven’t had in at least two years.
They quickly won eight of their next 11 games, then lost three of their subsequent four games, but they have since recovered and claimed three in a row, making them 12-6 overall since D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley first donned the purple and gold.
More and more people feel that once LeBron James returns from his right foot tendon injury, the Lakers will be a dangerous team in the playoffs, assuming they get to the playoffs.
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors is one of those who believes L.A. will be a force this spring.
Via Lakers Daily:
“They are a serious threat in the West right now,” Green said of the Lakers. “Talk about the record all you want, they just gotta get in. They get in, they a serious threat in the West.”
Currently, the Lakers are in eighth place in the Western Conference and are just 1.5 games behind Green’s Warriors, who are in sixth place, and the fifth-place Phoenix Suns.
Interestingly, some would say Golden State is in the same category. The defending NBA champs have struggled all season, but the team has been very strong at home, and its winning pedigree would also make it a dangerous team come playoff time.