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Pau Gasol battles Sixers forward Evan Turner as he moves to the basket in the first half. (Gus Ruelas / Associated Press / January 1, 2013) |
The Lakers (15-16) are heading into a very difficult stretch of games with visits to the Clippers, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. They'll also host the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
"We don't like our position in the standings but are we are a better or a worse team than even our record?" asked Coach Mike D'Antoni. "I think after this week we'll get a better understanding of, 'OK, this is getting a little scary and we've got to get up there' or we're coming along. So, yeah this is a big week for us."
And if they're worse than their record? What then?
"We just keep working," said D'Antoni. "Keep going as hard as you can. I mean that's all you can do. You just keep putting your head down and try to get as good as you can."
If that's what the Lakers are already doing, with mixed results at best, does working harder lift the team up from 11th place in the Western Conference?
D'Antoni may have been reluctant to say a more than the obvious. If they're not heading up in the standings, it may be time for management to change the roster.
"We have complacency and every time there's adversity, we kind of step up to the challenge. When they fired Mike Brown, when I came in [and] when Steve came back, every time there's something new, it's like 'Oh yeah, this is great." and we play well for two or three games and then go back to the rut that got them in this spot in the first place," said D'Antoni. "We talk about it and guard against it. Obviously we're in another bad point so I expect us to come out strong and somehow we've got to sustain it."
So far that hasn't happened yet for the Lakers other than a recent five-game winning streak. They've since lost two of three.
The Lakers visit the Clippers on Friday night.
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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
