The Lakers are going into the playoffs with few expectations.
Injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves leave them in an unenviable position. While they secured the No. 4 seed, they’ll limp into the playoffs as a clear underdog.
Predictably, no one is picking the Lakers to win. On Monday, ESPN’s writers selected winners for each series and not one person picked LA to win.
Shoutout to a handful of writers who think the Lakers are going to take it to Game 7 but lose at home with LeBron James and maybe
a returning Luka Dončić and/or Austin Reaves. On the other hand, though, they at least have the Lakers winning some games.
Having said all that, it’s time to revive the #WeBelieve hashtag.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Lakers have just a 32% chance of beating the Rockets. FanDuel’s odds for Saturday’s game list LA at +5.5. CBS Sports had similar expert predictions to ESPN with no one picking the Lakers to advance.
No one believes in the Lakers.
Even if it is just in this moment, it’s going to be a pretty easy rallying cry for head coach JJ Redick. An “us against the world” narrative can work for the first round with Luka and Austin out.
The purple and gold are going to have to figure a lot of things out on the fly. They’re going to have to heavily rely on LeBron James. They’ll need role players to step up in big ways. All of those things are tall asks. But there’s a path and that’s all the Lakers need.
#WeBelieve.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
