It's been a long, long, looooooooong climb, filled with some ups and a whole bunch of downs and aided by a Western Conference that just refuses to kick it into high gear... but the Lakers have finally crawled back into the playoff picture. After beating the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night, behind yet another epic effort from Anthony Davis (30 points, 22 rebounds, 11-17 shooting, two blocked shots), the Lakers are back in the West's top 10, meaning if the season ended today, they'd be in the play-in.
(And tonight, SB Nation/Silver Screen and Roll's Harrison Faigen joins to break it all down!)
It's a remarkable piece of progress for a team that has seen long-term injuries to Davis and LeBron James, has barely played with D'Angelo Russell since acquiring him, and generally has had little to no continuity for... years.
But since the trade deadline, the Lakers have won seven of 10, despite all the absences. The sample size is large enough to say that, while the O might still struggle, the defense is vastly improved. And Tuesday, the Lakers locked up the Grizzlies (admittedly a shorthanded version of that crew) on a night where Jarred Vanderbilt, who has been a defensive catalyst since his arrival, wasn't all that impactful.
But really, it starts with Davis. His elevated play isn't just needed because it gives the Lakers a shot to compete, but because it elevates his teammates, too. They can play with the swagger and freedom of guys who know they have one of THOSE DUDES on their team. The schedule going forward has plenty of winnable games, so what's the realistic upside, here?
Finally, Tuesday night the Lakers sent Pau Gasol's #16 to the rafters, in an emotional ceremony. Truly one of the most unique, talented and high quality humans the Lakers organization has ever seen.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with guest Harrison Faigen!

SEGMENT 1: Lakers win! And with that, they're part of the play-in gang, at least for now.

SEGMENT 2: How high can they go? Well, if Anthony Davis keeps doing *this*... there's upside.

SEGMENT 3: A perfect night honoring Pau Gasol.

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