Was Friday's Win Over Spurs Cause for Concern For Lakers?
The Los Angeles Lakers were in control of their game against the San Antonio Spurs throughout, but it wasn't as easy as it should have been. San Antonio hung around Los Angeles, making things difficult for the team all game.
San Antonio came into the game having only won 11 wins on the season, but that didn't stop them from fighting. It forced the Lakers to give it their all just to avoid losing a needed game.
As the team works through the post-All-Star break rust, they will need to come out stronger. This type of effort won't work against better competition, posing a question of potential concern from the win.
"Forget that the San Antonio Spurs have won just 11 games — the No. 1 draft pick’s first game in Los Angeles against the Lakers certainly qualified as a big deal, even if the outcome was always a probability. The Lakers eventually bullied their way to a 123-118 win, their talent edge undeniable against Wembanyama and the baby Spurs."
To the Spurs' credit, Victor Wembanyama is the real deal. He helped keep his team alive against the Lakers, giving them all sorts of fits.
The Lakers are sitting in the 9th spot in the Western Conference standings, so every game matters from here on out. They can't afford any slip-ups, and head coach Darvin Ham wants to see better attention to detail going forward.
“We’ve got a bunch of weapons, but they’re useless if we don’t do the little things — sprinting hard when we get the ball in transition, not turning it over, maintaining spacing, making sure we get hits on screens to create an advantage and making the simple, easy play.”
Luckily, they avoided losing to the Spurs on Friday. But as they get ready to face the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, things become even more challenging for this squad.
