The Los Angeles Lakers are Western Conference Final bound for the first time since 2020 after a massive 122-101 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 on Friday night — but as Austin Reaves explained, it wasn't an easy road the 2023 Lakers took to get to the final four.
“We started off 2-10. It was not fun. When you're in an organization like this, you're expected to win,” Reaves said afterwards, per ClutchPoints' Michael Corvo. “I feel like the month before the playoffs was basically playoff basketball for us…We were in must-win situations for a long time.”
It certainly was an up-and-down regular season for the team, but six months and a day after the 2-10 start to the 2022-23 campaign, they emphatically defeated the defending champions to set up a date with the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers were unable to secure the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and had to participate in the NBA Play-In Tournament — but as Reaves asserts, the squad stayed even-keeled throughout all the adversity.
“To be locked in like that before this…to have that attention to detail, the focus that we had to have for the last month of the regular season, it was a big benefit for us, because, like I said, we were so locked in for so long.”
Reaves was excellent for his team on Friday, scoring 23 points, highlighted by a 54-foot three-pointer from half-court at the halftime buzzer; he also added six assists and five rebounds in the victory.
AUSTIN REAVES HALF-COURT BUZZER BEATER!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/TLx1z99L8h
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 13, 2023
As anyone on the Lakers will tell you, all that matters in the regular season is getting a chance to play in the postseason, and LA has made the most of it as the No. 7 seed this year.
“It's special to get that win to beat a team that's so established and so good,” Austin Reaves continued. “I think the seeding things are just numbers. When you have guys like Bron and AD who have won championships, you always feel like you have a chance, especially with the roster that we have, the talent that we have.”
It's now onto the Western Conference's No. 1 seed in the Nuggets in the WCF; they dispatched the Phoenix Suns in blowout fashion in Game 6 of their Round 2 series on Thursday night.
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