The red-hot Lakers continued their win streak on Saturday after an impressive double-digit victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. With a final score of 116-97, the Lakers flexed their depth and talent at every position to make a statement against LeBron James’ former team.
On social media, fans had all sorts of reactions to the game, and many of them were filled with hope for the upcoming postseason.
The Lakers, now winners of four straight games, are making up ground in the standings and have officially moved up to 8th in the West after earning their 45th win. While maybe not as dangerous as the Thunder, Nuggets, or Timberwolves, the Lakers have to be considered a threat right now, given who is leading them and what kind of season they’ve had. Most fans can agree that this team, as is, can pull off an upset in the early rounds.
Tonight, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were the heroes for the Lakers and combined to score 46 points on 17-29 shooting. LeBron has 24 points and 12 assists while Davis tallied 22 points and 13 rebounds. Their connection was strong for the entire game and their chemistry powered the Lake Show all night long.
In the backcourt, it was D’Angelo Russell who was the team’s leading scorer with a stat line of 28 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 31 minutes. He continues a streak of excellent play and will enter the playoffs as one of the team’s primary offensive options. According to Russell, his team is much better than their record indicates.
The Cavs, who came into the game at 3rd in the East, were held to 97 points and Donovan Mitchell had one of his worst games in a while with a final stat line of 10 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds per game on 30% shooting.
As good of a game as it was, the Lakers did not have the time to savor the victory. With a game against the Timberwolves tomorrow, they will need to tighten up and get back to business right away to keep their place in the standings.
Los Angeles Lakers Are Rolling At The Right Time
The last couple of years have been pure chaos for Lakers Nation, but everything seems to be coming together at the right time. After a rough period of play on the court, D’Angelo Russell is having the best stretch of his career right now, and the Lakers are much better off.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis, despite their injury-riddled past, are as healthy as they’ve ever been and are ending the regular season looking shockingly fresh.
Put those factors alongside strong play from Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, and Rui Hachimura, and anyone can see why the Lakers pose such a massive threat in the West playoff bracket. Even at 9th in the standings, this team can make a deep run, and we saw that last season when they survived to the Conference Finals.
This year, while the West has gotten even tougher, the Lakers are coming in with the ultimate confidence and belief that they can beat any team in a seven-game series. It will come time to prove it soon enough but until then, the Lakers will have to do whatever they can to tip the odds in their favor.
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