The Los Angeles Lakers are fighting to stay in playoff contention this season, fighting injuries and inconsistent performances.
The Lakers have been fighting to maintain the number 6 seed in the western conference.
They started the season with a lot of hope after the Lakers kept some key players like Austin Reaves and made some good offseason moves, but injuries for Anthony Davis have made it tough for them to start rolling.
“We’ve been working through a lot of challenges,” Coach JJ Redick said. “This team has the talent to compete, but we need to bring it every night.”
A big thing is the improvement played by Reaves. He has been hitting big shots and showing he can handle pressure.
The Lakers need to make up for their terrible defense. But even with Reaves stepping up, there have been games where the team just couldn’t keep up with the stronger teams like Nuggets and OKC.
“Our focus has to be on finishing games,” Reaves said after a close loss. “We can’t let these slip away.”
Their biggest issue is their defense. When the team communicates and plays together, they can lock opponents down.
But their inconsistency hurts them. They’ve had games where they give up to many open threes or fail to protect the rim.
Davis knows they need to improve.
“We’re not where we need to be on defense,” Davis said. “If we want to go far, we’ve got to tighten up.”
The Lakers still have time to turn things around, but every game matters now. They’ve got a tough schedule ahead.
“We won the game,” Redick said after a huge win.
