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The LA Lakers are 9-5 since Feb. 15, clearly getting a boost with a flurry of trade-deadline deals to offset the loss of injured star LeBron James. But the pressure to make a push for the playoffs is still strong.
First-year coach Darvin Ham talked about the pressure on the team in a Los Angeles Times article by Dan Woike:
"It’s caused them to come to the game on high alert and high awareness. Just having something to play for. You’d be surprised how comfortable guys are with that as opposed to having to play a meaningless game. The fact that these games carry so much weight, I think, is causing our guys to lock in more. I don’t see any stress. I just see guys figuring it out because they want to be a part of this team getting into the postseason and making a run," Ham said.
Ever since the acquisition of Jarred Vanderbilt, D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Rui Hachimura, the team has improved. But a 2-10 start to this season still haunts the Lakers.
Los Angeles (35-37), 2-3 in its last five games, is 11th in the Western Conference, sitting a half-game out of the play-in tournament race with 10 games remaining. But the Lakers have already surpassed their win total from last season, when Los Angeles finished 33-49.
For the season, the Lakers are 12th in defense with a 113.3 rating and 23rd in offense with a 113.1 rating.
LA Lakers' Play-In Scenario
Los Angeles is 6-5 since Feb. 26, when the Lakers secured a big 111-108 victory against the Dallas Mavericks but at the cost of LeBron James sustaining a foot injury.
The new-look Lakers have managed to hold the fort down until his return. But with how stacked the Western Conference is, sneaking a spot into the play-in tournament is a challenge on its own.
The OKC Thunder (36-36) are in seventh place, followed by the Dallas Mavericks (36-36, eighth), Minnesota Timberwolves (36-37, ninth) and Utah Jazz (35-36, 10th). The race to the finish line is tight, with the Lakers hoping to sneak their way into at least the play-in tournament.
Darvin Ham said this in the Los Angeles Times article about the team's mentality:
"So, the stress, the anxiety, I don’t see that. My coaching staff and I, we talked about that this morning. They don’t see that from our players. I see a bit of hunger."
The Lakers have a tough matchup on Wednesday night against the visiting Phoenix Suns (38-33) as they try to secure as many wins as possible before the season ends.
