Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton had mixed feelings following an unforeseen 102-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs. While the win marks the second in a row and the third in the last seven games, it also worsens the team's chances of keeping their lottery pick, having now leapfrogged the Phoenix Suns for the third-worst record in the NBA.
The win now gives them a 46.9 percent chance to keep a top-three protected first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. If the pick were to fall outside of the top-three in the lottery, said selection will end up in the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers as a result of the sign-and-trade deal for Steve Nash.
“Obviously it's a unique situation but our players' jobs are to go out there and win,” Walton told Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. “They did a great job of that tonight. At the end of the day it's a lottery anyway so we're gonna need some luck from the basketball gods.”
“We're gonna keep playing the way we think is best for our team. We expect our players to go out and compete the way they did tonight every game. I'm real proud of the effort they gave us tonight.”
Prior to the win, the Lakers had a 55.8 percent chance at landing a top-three pick, and while a mere 8.9 percent doesn't seem like much of a different, it would make all the difference for team president Magic Johnson as he tries to reshape the roster in the offseason.
The Lakers were without the services of starting point guard D'Angelo Russell, with Tyler Ennis taking over the reins and pouring in 19 points to lead the team after notching the start.
“They're having fun,” Walton told The Associated Press. “We're trying to build momentum for this off-season and hopefully we can stay healthy and keep playing a certain way.”
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich sat out his starters in the second half, and while outscoring the Lakers 54-49, they were unable to recover from a 17-point deficit from the first quarter.
“I didn't want to overplay anybody just to win a basketball game,” Popovich said. “It doesn't make much sense in the long run.”
With four games left, all the Lakers can hope for is a Suns victory in one of their last three games before the season ends — they'll face Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Sacramento on the road in the season finale next Tuesday.
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