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Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers know they don't have a lot of time to make up ground in the standings and compete for a spot in the postseason.
With 23 games remaining, the Lakers, at 27-32, sit 2.5 games out of the final play-in spot. They need to jump six teams and make up 3.5 games to accomplish Darvin Ham's goal of earning the No. 6 seed and avoiding the Play-In Tournament altogether.
At the team's first post-All-Star break practice on Wednesday, Anthony Davis acknowledged the dire straits the new-look Lakers find themselves in.
“I think each game is a must-win game for us, given the situation that we're in,” said AD. “So they're all pretty important, and we got to treat each game that way. Look at it as a Game 7 game. If we go out and compete on both ends of the floor and do what we're supposed to do, we'll give ourselves a pretty good chance.”
AD's comments echo those made by LeBron James at his All-Star Weekend press conference. LeBron deemed the Lakers' final 23 games among the “most important” of his 20-year career and firmly stated his intention on qualifying for postseason play.
“It’s 23 of the most important games of my career, for the regular season,” LeBron said. “That’s the type of mindset that I have, that I hope the guys will have coming out the break.
“I want to make a push to make the playoffs,” he added. “I don’t want to see myself not being part of the postseason for two years straight. It’s just not part of my DNA. … We’re sitting up here talking about the record and things of that nature, and that’s all cool, but I’m more passionate about trying to make the postseason and give ourselves a chance to compete for another Larry O’Brien Trophy. That’s just who I am. That’s what I’m cut from.”
The Lakers begin their playoff push vs. the Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.
