Dave McMenaminApr 12, 2025, 03:12 AM ET
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- Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
- Lined the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.
LOS ANGELES — After the Lakers closed out their closing house sport of the steady season via routing the Rockets 140-109 on Friday night time to clinch the No. 3 seed within the Western Convention, Austin Reaves joked that the group’s marketing campaign, every now and then, felt like 5 seasons in a single.
All of the ups and downs and twists and turns Los Angeles persisted supplied Reaves with readability as he regarded forward to the postseason.
“I believe like shall we win a championship, to be truthful with you,” Reaves mentioned.
Luka Doncic, who scored 39 issues on 13-of-19 taking pictures via 3 quarters Friday, agreed with Reaves.
“That is our handiest objective,” Doncic mentioned. “I feel we’ve the group to do it.”
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The Lakers made certain to experience their victory Friday night time.
Trainer JJ Redick needed to turn into a kelly inexperienced Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt sooner than his postgame information convention after being soaked within the locker room as gamers bombarded him with ice buckets to have fun the group’s fiftieth win.
“The entire locker room is actually water,” Rui Hachimura mentioned with a grin. “Directly water.”
Hachimura mentioned Redick advised the group that when he was once employed in June, leaving at the back of a burgeoning occupation as an NBA broadcaster and podcaster, he set two targets for himself: to win 50 video games and to protected the No. 3 seed; 76 of the NBA’s 78 champions have been the No. 3 seed or higher.
On Friday, he achieved each.
“Simply extremely happy with our group,” Redick mentioned after apologizing for the $17,000 in damages he estimated the Lakers led to to the locker room carpet. “It is an accomplishment to win 50 video games within the steady season in any 12 months. I feel specifically on this 12 months, on this Western Convention, it’s. And it is a credit score to our gamers. Every one at other time limits has contributed to successful. They have all participated in a successful tradition.”
Despite the fact that Doncic has emerged as Los Angeles’ perfect participant down the stretch, this Lakers group were given up to now with LeBron James main the way in which for the previous seven years.
James, who exited the sport after striking up 14 issues and 8 assists in 22 mins sooner than showing to tweak his left hip/groin space, is “nice,” in line with Redick. The 22-year veteran left the world with out chatting with journalists however congratulated the group with a submit on X after the sport.
“Guy I used to be going to mention one thing however it is needless at this level in my occupation!” James wrote. “Anyhow extra necessary CONGRATULATIONS JJ on a 50 win season within the WEST & Put up Season nod!”
Despite the fact that it’s unclear what James was once particularly relating to when he wrote that he sought after to “say one thing,” former Detroit Pistons nice Isiah Thomas had criticized him for going via his non-public exercise 5 hours sooner than tipoff with out a blouse on all over NBA TV’s protection of the sport.
“I simply completely, 100% object to this,” Thomas mentioned when the cameras confirmed James’ early pregame regimen. “I simply suppose the professionalism in our NBA league has decreased such a lot.”
It’s also unclear which group Los Angeles will face within the first around. The Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets all have a possibility to protected the No. 6 seed within the West, and lock within the Lakers as an opponent, heading into the general two days of the steady season this weekend.
For now, the Lakers will go back and forth to play the Portland Path Blazers within the regular-season finale Sunday — and can undoubtedly cling out the majority in their rotation gamers — after which have per week off sooner than web hosting Recreation 1 in their first-round collection subsequent weekend.
“The great a part of the season is coming, so you were given to stick in a position, were given to stick locked in, however needless to say, the remaining goes to be nice for me,” Doncic mentioned.
It’s going to be the primary time the Lakers open the playoffs with a house sport since 2010-11, Phil Jackson’s closing season as trainer. The Lakers have been the No. 1 seed in 2019-20, however the postseason was once performed within the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida.
And they are going to have the No. 1 all-time playoff issues scorer in James and the No. 2 participant in playoff scoring reasonable in Doncic.
“It isn’t simply me and LeBron,” Doncic mentioned. “We have now a super group round us; everyone is helping us in such a lot of techniques. So if we need to win the championship, it’ll take all folks.”
