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Just like last year, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking much better at the end of the season and are actually playing like real playoff contenders.
The team just concluded a six-game road trip and ended with a 5-1 record.
Everything about the Lakers looks better right now and Jovan Buha thinks they are playing like they need to.
“With five games remaining, the Lakers are finally rounding into form,” Buha wrote for The Athletic.
This is a positive sign for the purple and gold, but has it come too late?
The Lakers handled business and finished their road trip 5-1.
Los Angeles did so with a level of determination and consistency that has eluded the team for much of the season, @jovanbuha writes.
Are they peaking at the right time?https://t.co/yL0A0qGIlA pic.twitter.com/1HZjSk5mfm
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) April 4, 2024
The Lakers just beat the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards on the road.
While some of these teams were inferior and easier to beat, all gave the Lakers more chances to find their rhythm and prepare for the upcoming Play-In Tournament.
This is similar to what fans saw last season: the Lakers struggled for months, only to find their footing when it mattered most.
With that being said, the road ahead is very tough for LeBron James and his team.
First, they have to emerge from the Play-In Tournament and might have to play against the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, or Phoenix Suns.
All of those teams will prove very troublesome for the Lakers.
But their biggest challenge will come after that in the first round.
If the Lakers are able to grab the eighth seed, they will square off against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, or Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets are especially troubling for the Lakers, as they haven’t been able to take down Nikola Jokic and his team in ages, including last year during the Western Conference Finals.
Buha is right when he says the team is in good form but that still doesn’t guarantee success in the months ahead.
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