Hey, everyone, it\u2019s Dan Woike, Lakers beat reporter for the L.A. Times, sliding into your email with some not-so-great news, which has been sort of how it\u2019s gone every week that we\u2019ve sent out the weekly newsletter.
As the finish line comes into focus, guess what? The news might be getting worse.
Let\u2019s explain:
All things Lakers, all the time.
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Over the last two months as the Lakers<\/a> have slid down the standings, the vibe in news conferences before and after games hasn\u2019t always been good. Actually, more often than not, it\u2019s been awkward. The problem? They\u2019re 2-2 during this \u201cfeel good\u201d portion of their schedule, with things about to severely toughen in the final weeks of the season. But it turns out the Lakers will need to win some games too. It\u2019s been almost two weeks of Davis getting in on-court shooting work before games, and as best as we can notice, the intensity of the workouts has been increasing. \u201cPhoenix<\/a>\u201d<\/b> by Big Red Machine, featuring Fleet Foxes & Ana\u00efs Mitchell \u2014 Lakers new starter Stanley Johnson\u2019s inspired play a silver lining in loss<\/a> Get our high school sports newsletter USC Sports<\/a> Sports<\/a> Dodgers<\/a> Most Read
Players and coaches have been frustrated by being asked the same questions. Reporters, like me, are having a hard time generating new questions because the problems the Lakers face today are basically the same ones since early November.
The general gist has been this: The Lakers have been an exhausting team to play on, to coach and to cover because of one universal truth. This team thought they would be, in one way or another, good. This team has, despite its best efforts, mostly failed to be good. The burden of those unmet expectations combined with injuries that have required them to maintain hope have basically left this team spinning its wheels with the gearshift in neutral.
Over the last week, though, things have been slightly better. Following another loss<\/a> to the red-hot Minnesota Timberwolves during which the Lakers were embarrassed by a younger, brasher team<\/a>, they won in Toronto<\/a>, played well for three quarters in Washington<\/a> and played well, again, in a victory in Cleveland. Add in a gutty, under-manned performance against Philadelphia<\/a>, and the Lakers actually feel like they\u2019re moving in a good direction.<\/p>\n
The cushion of the play-in tournament and the acceptance that the Lakers will either be ninth or 10th in the standings have helped make some of the losses more palatable. Figuring out the right way to play, building Russell Westbrook\u2018s confidence and getting (and staying) healthy are all that really matter down the stretch.
Sports<\/a>
Kobe Bryant\u2019s signature shoes will again be produced by Nike<\/a>
Kobe Bryant\u2019s signature shoes will again be produced by Nike, his widow Vanessa announced on Instagram.<\/p>\n
The San Antonio Spurs are currently 11th in the West, just two games behind. And if my understanding of protocols is correct, coach Gregg Popovich\u2019s team owns the tiebreaker against the Lakers because of their superior record in conference games.
The Spurs finish the season like this: at New Orleans, at Houston, vs. Memphis, vs. Portland (twice), at Denver, at Minnesota, vs. Golden State and at Dallas.
If the Spurs win three of those games, the Lakers would need at least two more victories this year to hold them off.
That sounds easy enough until you look at their schedule.
It begins Sunday in New Orleans (the Pelicans on the second day of back-to-back games). From there the schedule has them at Dallas, at Utah, vs. New Orleans, vs. Denver, at Phoenix, at Golden State, vs. Oklahoma City and at Denver.
There\u2019s no lock that there are three wins in there, although the odds improve if (or more likely when) Anthony Davis returns to the court.
The Pelicans have a schedule advantage over the Lakers, as well, playing Portland twice in addition to two with the Lakers, one with the Spurs and one with Sacramento.
All of this is to say that the Lakers better hope their recent optimism isn\u2019t just desperate hope. The changes better be real \u2014 because the chance the Lakers thought they had to reach the play-in tournament hasn\u2019t been confirmed yet.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a great sign as he returns from his foot strain \u2014 an injury that undoubtedly could\u2019ve been worse.
While the Lakers haven\u2019t said when he\u2019ll return to game action \u2014 he\u2019d need to be cleared for full-contact work first \u2014 Davis has said that he\u2019s not concerned about needing a long ramp-up to get his wind back to where it needs to be.
We still haven\u2019t seen Davis running at full speed or pushing his pregame workouts to full speed. But we haven\u2019t seen him slow down either, the team\u2019s hopeful tone about his return matching his on-court progress.
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Should the Lakers survive the play-in tournament, their path will undoubtedly run through Phoenix so let\u2019s enjoy this one from Big Red Machine \u2014 an indie rock superduo with Bon Iver\u2019s Justin Vernon and the National\u2019s Aaron Dessner. And, yes, the band name is a nod to the \u201870s Reds.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Kobe Bryant\u2019s signature shoes will again be produced by Nike<\/a>
\u2014 Lakers can\u2019t build on momentum<\/a> as they fall to 76ers
\u2014 Lakers-Cavaliers takeaways: D.J. Augustin couldn\u2019t miss<\/a> in L.A.’s win
\u2014 LeBron James has triple-double, monster dunk in Lakers\u2019 win over Cavaliers<\/a>
\u2014 LeBron James reaches No. 2 on NBA\u2019s career scoring list<\/a>, but Lakers lose to Wizards
\u2014 LeBron James and big finish vs. Raptors help Lakers snap 11-game road skid<\/a>
\u2014 Q&A: Author of Kobe Bryant book<\/a> \u2018The Rise\u2019 gives his insights
\u2014 Lakers\u2019 latest struggles were the talk of the Timberwolves<\/a>
Until next time…
As always, pass along your thoughts to me at daniel.woike@latimes.com<\/a><\/u>, and please consider subscribing<\/a> if you like our work!<\/p>\n
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Dan Woike is the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times after spending two seasons covering the league as a whole, with an emphasis on Los Angeles\u2019 teams.
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