The Los Angeles Lakers were in a bad place after an embarrassing loss to the Portland Trail Blazers last Saturday.
The defeat came on the heels of another puzzling loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in which L.A. blew a 19-point lead. Los Angeles had blown a 26-point lead against the Thunder in the first game between the two sides.
So when the Lakers traveled to Portland, better energy and effort were expected from the group. However, that was far from the case.
The Blazers had all of the momentum from the get-go, and L.A. never responded. Portland once led by 34 points, so the final deficit doesn’t show the full story.
Since then, the Lakers have defeated the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. Anthony Davis explained after the win against the Heat how the loss to Portland helped the team with its mindset.
“After that Portland loss, we took that personal,” Davis said. “We’re not that type of team. No energy, no effort, a little bit of selfishness. We just tried to change that and get wins with eight-man rotations, nine-man rotations, trying to find ways to get wins while everyone is getting back healthy.”
Davis continued about how the team morale has increased from the victories.
“These last two games have definitely been fun, for sure,” Davis said. “Guys are having fun, guys are starting to realize how good of a team we are. We just have to continue to keep that mindset and continue to win on our home floor.”
The Lakers can continue the win streak in Staples Center by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have a 3-7 record, Friday.
