It's taken a while for the Lakers to climb out of the hole they dug at the start of the season, but they have officially emerged. For the first time since last January (the one in 2022) the Lakers are over .500, following an impressive 123-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis. Anthony Davis was dominant, again, with 38 points and 17 rebounds, leading the Lakers down the stretch despite a bum ankle that he says will not keep him out of Sunday's game in Houston. (We'll see about that.)
But it was a genuine team effort. LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt -- basically everyone who suited up did something to contribute to Friday's win. The Lakers are now 14-7 following the trade deadline, despite not having LeBron around for a big chunk of those games.
They've won the first two games of the road trip, get Houston on Sunday, and still have two games left against a fading Utah squad.
The six seed is still live. But more importantly, this is looking like a team that nobody would want to play, assuming A.D. and LeBron stay healthy.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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