The short-handed Los Angeles Lakers (7-5) have won back-to-back overtime games at home following their lackadaisical effort against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center last Saturday. They gutsily defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 126-123 on Monday, then escaped with their best win of the season vs. the Miami Heat on Wednesday, 120-117.

The Lakers have problems to solve. They have injuries to manage (including LeBron James'), rotations to sort out, and cohesion to establish. The schedule will get tougher and less Los Angeles-based.

In other words: there are plenty of excuses the Lakers can make and reasonable explanations for their rocky start. However, there's one thing they can always control: their effort.

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For the most part, a lack of trying hasn't been the Lakers' issue this season. It's certainly never been a quality associated with Russell Westbrook, and that historically rubs off on his teammates.

Yet, in Portland, the Lakers' energy was jarringly abysmal, especially once Anthony Davis exited in the first quarter with a stomach illness. Los Angeles fell 105-90 and trailed by 30 for swaths of the night. Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, and Frank Vogel called out the team in their postgame remarks.

Against Charlotte, the Lakers blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead but held on for a palate-cleansing W. On Wednesday, facing one of the grittiest and physically imposing teams in the NBA (albeit without Jimmy Butler for the second half), the Lakers hung tough.

Davis, who had 24 points and 13 rebounds in 45 minutes, went full Michael Jordan afterward, incidentally quoting “The Last Dance.”

“After that Portland loss, we took that personally,” he said. “We’re not that type of team. No energy, no effort, a little bit of selfishness. We just tried to change that and get wins with 8-man rotations, 9-man rotations. Trying to find ways to get wins while everyone is getting back healthy.”

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Los Angeles took the floor without Austin Reaves and Rajon Rondo (both with minor left hamstring strains), meaning the Lakers were missing six rotation pieces vs. Miami.

Vogel, too, praised the team's rebound post-Portland.

“We’re sticking together. That was a tough night. We didn’t play well. We got our butts kicked. Our group leans on one another. We have a good process of having a growth mindset, and we work on where we went wrong. Stay together, understand the big picture, and push it forward. I thought our attitude after that game was wonderful. A lot of guys wanted to do better. The coaching staff raising the bar with accountability, saying that’s not acceptable. … This group's going to be alright. It’s a little bumpy early, but we believe we're going to do special things this year, so it was a great response the last two games.”

In addition to a collectively improved “care-factor” (to steal one of Vogel's trademarked terms), Davis noted the Lakers have also been enjoying themselves more on the hardwood.

“These last two games have definitely been fun, for sure. Guys are having fun, guys are starting to realize how good of a team we are. We just have to continue to keep that mindset and continue to win on our home floor.”

Of course, it's always fun when you win. Just ask Michael Jordan.