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In most circumstances, advancing out of the first round is hardly a celebratory situation, particularly for a Lakers franchise with banners aplenty hanging. It should be little more than the first of a string of checkpoints on the way to raising the Larry O’Brien trophy.
But the win over the Rockets was not a normal playoff series and this was not a normal Lakers team.
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The Lakers were firm underdogs entering the playoffs. With both Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić sidelined at the start, LA was staring at a mountain to climb to even be competitive in the contest, most assumed. Even if Kevin Durant only played one game this series, the Rockets were still the favorites.
In fact, in all four of the games the Lakers won, they were the underdogs.
It speaks to the resiliency of a group that has shown that trait in spades all season. Never was it needed more than in the last month when they turned things around from hopeless to playoff victory.
“It felt bleak,“ head coach JJ Redick said after the team lost three straight games heading into the final week of the season. ”Whether it was LeBron, [Marcus] Smart, [Austin Reaves] doing everything he could to come back and give us that lift, each guy in some way led us. Just really proud of the group. I’m a big believer in life that you should celebrate every victory, you should celebrate small wins.
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“For us to be written off a few weeks ago and to win a playoff series is a big deal and it just speaks to the character of our team and the leaders of our team that didn’t let go of the rope.”
Redick was not alone in celebrating what the Lakers had just accomplished. Even LeBron, who has made a habit in his career of focusing on the big picture of a title, took time to appreciate the small victory, as he called it while speaking to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“It’s not my style at all. I think me personally, the accepting and trying to be OK with the small victories comes with where I am in my career. Understanding, s—, who knows how many more playoff series I’m going to be a part of? If I play one more or two more or three more seasons,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-deserve-victory-lap-beating-203953074.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-02 20:39:00
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