The Los Angeles Lakers have been through quite a lot this season. There have been more downs than ups so far, and for their part, the LA faithful have been left with no other choice but to endure the storm. At this point, however, things are finally looking up for the Lakers.

Entering Sunday's matchup against the New York Knicks, the Lakers are ninth in the West with a 33-34 record. They are also just 1.5 games behind the defending champs Golden State Warriors, who currently occupy the sixth and final guaranteed playoff seed in the conference. They're on a three-game winning streak as well, and LA is hoping to make it four in a row against New York.

Head coach Darvin Ham recently provided some insight on what it's been like behind closed doors for his team following the flurry of moves they underwent during the NBA trade deadline. At this point, it appears that the Lakers are finally moving in the right direction:

“Now that we made the acquisitions that we've made. Everybody is having fun in the locker room, competing their behinds off, pulling in the same direction” Ham said (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter). “They really enjoy playing with each other.”

The rest of the league better take notice. The new-look Lakers are coming, and they're coming hard. LeBron James isn't even in the lineup yet, with the NBA's all-time leading scorer still nursing a foot injury. LeBron should be back sooner rather than later, though, and LA should only get better with James back in the mix.

The Lakers appear to be peaking at the right time, and their fans are absolutely loving it.