Now that the team appears to have some momentum with the winning streak and a new style of play spearheaded by Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace believes this team has a chance to make a historic comeback in the second-half of the season via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
“It’s a fact that we got a chance to make world history here,” World Peace said after the Lakers won their second game in a row by beating the Thunder to improve to 19-25. “We got a great situation. We got a chance to make history. This is a beautiful situation to be in, the situation we’re in. This is beautiful.”
As of right now, the Lakers are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference and on the verge of climbing up the standings with the Portland Trail Blazers (22-21) and Houston Rockets (24-22) standing in their way of making the NBA playoffs at season’s end.
With 38 games remaining in the regular season, the playoff hopes for the Lakers are nowhere near over at this point in time. The team has struggled throughout the season with many questions about whether or not this team built to win a championship can actually live up to expectations or even make the postseason, but there’s still time to get something going in the final months of the season.
The two-game winning streak the team is currently riding may be arguably the most promising sign for a second-half resurgence. Kobe has apparently accepted a different role that has worked to perfection over the last two games and the rest of the team is firing on all cylinders as a result.
Following the matchup against the Hornets on Tuesday, the Lakers will hit the road for seven games away from Los Angeles that will certainly test this team’s resolve and ability to play consistently well with the new style of offense. Staying healthy, positive and continuing to play solid team basketball will be crucial to the team’s success moving forward with the brutal road trip potentially sealing the team’s fate or being the turning point.