Lakers not feeling pressure as sprint to the finish begins

Lakers coach Darvin Ham, talking to point guard Dennis Schroder during a break in play against the Mavericks, says the pressure of the playoff push “is causing our guys to lock in more.” (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

The Lakers arrived Tuesday at their practice facility and took a team photo.

They’ll begin to know Wednesday if those smiles can be lasting.

The game against the Phoenix Suns in Los Angeles begins the final 10 of a wildly up-and-down season, one in which optimism slowly built over the last month despite the team never reaching .500.

In a normal season, that might signal some sort of moment to begin to sprint, the starter’s pistol firing for a second time to indicate the final lap. In this season, Game 72 is just another must-ish win.

While the game against Phoenix is important, so is the one Friday against Oklahoma City. And the two with Chicago and the games in Minnesota, Houston and Utah, plus the one against the Clippers and two at home to finish the season against the Suns and Jazz.

With the play-in and playoff races so tightly packed, the Lakers have needed to approach the last month with a sense of urgency.

Having only 10 games left shouldn’t change that.

Coach Darvin Ham said this extended push hasn’t left his team mentally fatigued in any noticeable ways. He’s mostly seen the opposite.

“It’s caused them to come to the game on high alert and high awareness,” he said. “Just having something to play for. You’d be surprised how comfortable guys are with that as opposed to having to play a meaningless game. The fact that these games carry so much weight, I think, is causing our guys to lock in more. I don’t see any stress. I just see guys figuring it out because they want to be a part of this team getting into the postseason and making a run.

“So the stress, the anxiety, I don’t see that. My coaching staff and I, we talked about that this morning, they don’t see that from our players. I see a bit of hunger.”

If you’re looking for a date when the Lakers’ “push” began, Feb. 11 is a start. That was the first game after the trade deadline when the team’s new…


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Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2023-03-21 23:00:09

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