The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night with ease. They put together a wire-to-wire 131-99 victory to finish 4-0 in the Western Conference Group A of the In-Season Tournament.
With the result decided early, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were able to rest the entirety of the fourth quarter while the Lakers secured their place in the quarterfinals, a game they’ll host on their home floor.
It also continues a hot stretch for the Lakers with their sixth win in seven outings. Of those six wins, three have been by double digits and two have been by more than 25 points. In short, the Lakers appear to be figuring things out and are showing up as the team they intended to be when the season began.
James spoke about the Lakers’ place in the In-Season Tournament and what it means to have secured a home quarterfinal against a yet to be determined opponent.
“It is what it is. Obviously we’re in the tournament so it’s always great to be able to be victorious and have another way to have another home game. So that was great that we were able to take care of business that way.”
Taking a broader look at the Lakers’ six of seven stretch, James pinpointed an area of focus for L.A. that he feels they have successfully addressed.
“We wanted to reassure, obviously our first quarters to begin the season haven’t been too great for us, so we wanted to make sure that we get a handle on that. So we’ve been a lot better in the first quarter as of late, we’re still defending at a high level and offensively have been really good.”
The Lakers star was nonchalant when discussing the idea of getting the fourth quarter off before expanding and talking about what it might mean for some of the younger players.
“Listen, whatever the game takes. I prepare myself to be able to play whatever minutes I need to play. If there’s a case of a game where I don’t need to play a lot of minutes then I’ll take it, for sure. It’s all good.
“I think it’s great to see the young guys be able to go out and close the game. I love that, being able to sit on the bench and watch Max Christie go out and play the way he played, AR play the way he played, C Wood got into a rhythm in the fourth quarter, Rui continues to get better and better, and Jax. I just love seeing the young guys go out and perform at a high level even when we got a big lead. That’s a benefit for sure.”
Although the Lakers are only 15 games in, something seems to be clicking into place. James has been playing at an elite level alongside Anthony Davis, and the team’s younger players are getting important minutes to mesh together as L.A. builds toward a playoff run.
The In-Season Tournament has provided the Lakers with some early pressure to win, and they have responded emphatically.
James wants to see Lakers fully healthy
James recognized that even with the recent success, the Lakers are still waiting to see what they look like when Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent return and the team is fully healthy.
“We don’t know what we have just yet. We haven’t been whole yet. We have not been whole yet, not one time this season yet. So we don’t know exactly what we have, but whatever guys are in uniform, they’re gonna come out and they’re gonna try to execute the gameplan offensively and defensively as close to 48 minutes as possible and we trust everybody that steps on the floor.”
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