The 2023-24 NBA regular season is coming to an end and the Los Angeles Lakers have work to do ahead of the playoffs. While the team is facing plenty of questions, Anthony Davis made it clear he feels great and is optimistic for the future.
“I think we’re in a great place,” Davis said after shootaround Friday morning ahead of the Grizzlies game, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “The two games that we lost, I played a quarter and then LeBron [James] didn’t play one. So there’s nothing we can really do about that now. Our job is to focus on these next two — the game tonight and then on Sunday against New Orleans — and then just kind of see what happens, where we stand after that. And then go win basketball games.”
The Lakers are currently tied with the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, but a combined 1-7 record against those teams sees the purple and gold 10th in the West.
Darvin Ham’s side can still finish as high as 8th if it wins its next two games, if other results also help. Either way, AD doesn’t seem to care about his team’s seed. The important thing for him is to be up to the task when the postseason comes.
“At the end of the day, no matter where you are in the standings, you still have to win,” Davis said. “For us, it’s about taking it one game at a time. Whether that’s 10th place, ninth place, eighth, no matter where you are. You can be the first seed, you still have to win basketball games. So that’s our mindset. No matter where we are, we just got to win.”
Lakers aim to build on 2023 playoff experience
Last year, Rob Pelinka made the right moves just in time to fix the Lakers’ roster at the trade deadline. The team looked completely different after the All-Star break, making a huge turnaround in the second half of the season to achieve a deep playoff run.
Los Angeles made it all the way to the Conference Finals, where it got swept by eventual champions Denver Nuggets. Except for LeBron James, the Lakers have been more inconsistent this year, but their playoff experience from last year suggests they shouldn’t be written off in 2024.
Davis spent time on the sidelines with his second eye injury in the last five weeks, but now looks ready to go and help finish the season strongly. The Play-In starts next week, and the Lakers could face a huge matchup with the Warriors as a possible opponent.
