(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers headed into the 2023-24 NBA season with high hopes of being a legitimate title contender in the Western Conference, with superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis having a stacked supporting cast around them, making them arguably the deepest team in the league.
Unfortunately for Los Angeles, things haven’t panned out as they would’ve hoped at this point in the season, with James and company only being a few games above .500 at 12-9, which isn’t a great sign for a team with title aspirations.
However, the Lakers have played exceptionally well in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, with Darvin Ham’s squad sporting a perfect 4-0 record, which they’ll put on the line on Tuesday night against Kevin Durant and the division-rival Phoenix Suns.
Ahead of Tuesday’s showdown with the Suns, Rui Hachimura spoke to the media on Monday and emphasized the need to get the win against the Suns and win the money on the line in Las Vegas, via Michael Corvo of ClutchPoints.
“We gotta go get this one tomorrow, and then go to Vegas and get the whole bag.”
Rui Hachimura on the Lakers’ In-Season Tournament hopes
(via @michaelcorvoNBA) pic.twitter.com/3TsL7X4iV2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 4, 2023
As of right now, the Lakers are slightly favored to get the best of the Suns at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
The Lakers’ real struggles this season have come on the road, as seven of their nine losses thus far have happened away from Los Angeles, which may be the reason for the odds tilting in their favor for tomorrow’s game.
It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out tomorrow night in Los Angeles and whether both of these teams are genuinely motivated about advancing in the In-Season Tournament.
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