Paper Guiluo City | Competitors have lost one after another, and the Lakers have to lie down to win, and they must focus even more after locking in the play-offs
"We'll be ready to play, I assure you. ”
That's what Lakers head coach Darvin Ham predicted to the media after training in El Segundo Friday morning. On Saturday afternoon, the Lakers will host the Cleveland Cavaliers (46-31), the third-best team in the East, and the Lakers are already in playoff mode.
"The most important thing today is to focus on ourselves," Hamm said. Try to keep what we're doing well and improve what we're not doing well. Of course, you have to look at the trend. You'll use all the information provided to you to come up with different combinations and lineups that have a high plus/minus on the field. ”
On the positive side, the Lakers seem to be playing better now than at any other stage of the season. However, despite winning eight of their last 10 games, they still haven't taken any advantage in the race for the Western Conference playoffs, remaining in ninth place with five games remaining.
Hachimura said a friend of his suggested he should be more proactive on the pitch, and the striker had taken that advice to heart.
"I want to be more involved and bring energy," he said. I began to figure out my role. Every game counts. We're going to play game by game and try to win all the games. ”
When asked how excited Japanese Shohei Hachimura was when compatriot Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run with the Dodgers, he said, "I'm excited. I saw it, and I was happy for him. We both came to Los Angeles at the same time to play for a historic team. "
After a nine-day road trip, the Lakers (44-33) have won five of their six games and have narrowed the gap to the Sacramento Kings (44-32) to halftime, and with the latter's loss to Eastern Conference leaders Boston Celtics today, they have the same record as the Kings, although the Sacramento Kings have beaten the Lakers in all four meetings.
Austin Reaves admits he often looks at the standings, and it's not just because the playoffs are just around the corner that the playoffs are just around the corner .
"I've been watching the game because I'm a fan and obviously we want to do everything we can and play our best to get into the play-offs," said the defender. I want to know what we need to do to qualify. ”
In Wednesday's 125-120 win over Washington, Anthony Davis had 35 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks. In the last 10 games, LeBron James leads the team with 21.2 points per game, while D'Angelo Russell is averaging 18.3 points per game.
While Davis is dominant on the offensive end, Reaves believes he can do more ways to make his teammates better on the defensive end.
"As long as he's protecting rebounds in the backcourt, it's important that he has the timing and the knowledge of what the players like to do," Reeves said. When we don't have him, the data can't be fully reflected. He's always talking, he's the coach on the pitch, he knows where the ball is coming from and what we can do to slow down the opposition's attack. ”
Hachimura added, "AD does small things that you can't see, and these little things don't show up on the statistical table. If you make a mistake, he'll show up, and that's good. He covered up a lot of our mistakes. ”
On the injury front, Ham confirmed that Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will be re-evaluated early next week. He had individual training on Friday but did not take part in team training. Forward Christian Wood underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on March 19 and is likely to miss the rest of the regular season this season.
As they battle for a better spot in the promotion, the Lakers will also have to fend off the Golden State Warriors, who are currently in 10th place and are currently two wins behind the Lakers after losing to the Mavericks today. On Tuesday they will face the Lakers in Crypto, the fourth and final meeting in the series this season. The Warriors have won two of their first three games, losing by one point to the Lakers in double overtime on Jan. 2.
"We're in the same situation now as we were last year, and if you want to move up the table, you have to win every game," Reeves said. I feel good. What is left? I've done my best before the last game and then I'm ready to relax. You want to participate in a contest like this in your dreams. ”