Lakers Notes: LeBron James, Darvin Ham, Anthony Davis

April 12, 2023

It wasn’t a great start to the season and it wasn’t a great finish to the play-in victory, but the Lakers are somehow playoff-bound.

Not just playoff-bound, but owners of the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference following an unsightly play-in overtime win against the visiting Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Yes, it was U-G-L-Y. But a win is a win is a win, and the Lakers now get to face the second-seeded Grizzlies. Two months ago, that prospect may have been unthinkable.

“When we went 2-10, the analytics side gave us a 0.3% chance of making the postseason,” star forward LeBron James said, via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “For us to turn around our season, for us to have an opportunity to compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy, that’s all you can ask for.”

The Lakers actually sat in 13th place at the All-Star Break, as Shelburne noted. Then bounced back after GM Rob Pelinka filled in around James and Anthony Davis with some February trades.

All the while, coach Darvin Ham suggested, the Lakers have kept hope alive.

“Some of the huge disappointing losses that we experienced early on, whether it was a defensive breakdown, whether it was an unfortunate foul … it’s totally uncomfortable when you are in the moment and going through those things,” Ham said, via Shelburne. “But you have to find a silver lining in things, whether it’s basketball, major sports in general and life.”