Coming out of the All-Star break, LeBron James said that the Los Angeles Lakers would be in “playoff mode” for the rest of the way. It certainly did not look like the Lakers' were in playoff mode midway through the third quarter against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, as they trailed by 19 points.
However, Los Angeles rallied, outscoring Houston 23-11 the rest of the way in the third period and then held the Rockets to just 16 points in the final frame to earn a crucial 111-106 win.
Playoff mode activated?
While we won't go that far just yet, this was obviously an enormous win for the Lakers for a couple of reasons.
First of all, the Sacramento Kings, one of the two teams Los Angeles needs to jump in the standings to reach the playoffs, lost on Thursday evening, so now, the Lakers are just one game behind the Kings for ninth in the Western Conference (they are two losses behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot).
Second, this was significant for morale.
Imagine if the Lakers, who went into the All-Star break with a 28-29 record after a brutal loss to the Atlanta Hawks, ended up getting blown out by the Rockets at home?
It would have just been another obstacle thrown in Los Angeles' way for the final two months of the regular season and may very well have served as a deflating defeat for the team in general.
But, obviously, the Lakers knew what was at stake and proceeded to lock in defensively against a dynamic offensive team for a big win.
Let's face it: a loss would have set a really ominous tone coming out of the week-long hiatus. It would have just evoked a same-old, same-old type of feeling, and we would have all wondered if the Lakers genuinely had it in them to make a run for postseason berth.
What Los Angeles demonstrated on Thursday was that it still has plenty of fight left in the tank. The Lakers are certainly not the most talented team in the West and they probably aren't going to be making a deep playoff run even if they get into the postseason, but qualifying for the playoffs is still critical for a LeBron-led team, and they showed that they still care a whole lot about doing so against Houston.
The Lakers will not really get a chance to make a move in the standings over the next three games, as they have a pair of contests against the New Orleans Pelicans sandwiched around a matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Those should be three wins, or at least two. So, we will really get to see what the Lakers are made of over this next week.
Of course, while Los Angeles' comeback victory over the Rockets was definitely an impressive feat, we saw the same problems that have plagued the Lakers all season long.
Los Angeles entered Thursday night's action ranking just 26th in the league in three-point percentage, and, lo and behold, the Lakers made just eight of their 30 three-point tries in the win. That is a 26.7 percent ratio, which is, well, not very good.
Also, Los Angeles ranks second-to-last in the league in turnovers, and on Thursday evening, the Lakers turned the ball over 18 times, which was actually above their already dubious season average of 15.9 giveaways per game.
So, while the Lakers may have displayed a lot of grit in their rally and certainly picked up a big win, Los Angeles can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect to string together victories.
Perimeter shooting is one thing. The Lakers just don't have many good outside shooters, although the addition of Reggie Bullock (who went 4-of-8 from deep in the victory) should definitely help a bit. But the turnovers? There is no excuse for Los Angeles constantly giving the ball to the other team. The Lakers must take better care of the rock over these last two months if they want to make the playoffs.
While not many people expected Los Angeles to be a real contender out West, there also weren't many that expected the Lakers to struggle to earn a playoff spot, but that is the predicament in which LeBron and Co. currently find themselves.
At the very least, Thursday evening was a solid start for the Lakers in their quest for a postseason berth. They clearly still have some things they need to work on, but beating the Rockets in that fashion is a step in the right direction.
Win a few more games in a row, and then we can truly say that “playoff mode” has been activated.