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.
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.
“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, that doesn’t guarantee me to be in the postseason. So just trying to appreciate the moments, whatever it is, and however long I’m playing.”
To say the Lakers were left for dead would not be an overstatement. Losing Austin and Luka together in the way they did at any point in the season would have been a huge blow. That it came on the heels of their best stretch of the season and with the playoffs rapidly approaching felt like the knockout punch.
Fortunately, the team never adopted that mentality. They spent the year adapting to their situation when a star was out and even if this was their stiffest challenge yet, they showed that resiliency once more.
Across the board, the team stepped up. LeBron James moved back to the No. 1 option. Luke Kennard had an out-of-body experience for the final weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs. Marcus Smart reminded everyone how elite a role player he can be. Deandre Ayton was arguably the team’s second-best player in the series. Rui Hachimura kept knocking down shots no matter the situation.
Add it all up and the Lakers walked into Houston and handed the Rockets a beatdown that will send them into the postseason questioning many things about itself.
“It means everything,” Smart said of winning the series. “It shows our resilience. It shows the belief that we have in next man up. It shows the belief the coaches have in us to put us in the right positions. And it just shows that, no matter how depleted we are, we’re always going to compete and give it everything we got and we’re going to trust each other.”
Thanks to RJ Barrett and the Raptors, the Lakers will have a bit of extra time to process the win before moving onto the Thunder, who they won’t play until Tuesday. It’ll serve as a nice buffer where the team can both appreciate what they were able to accomplish while also moving on to focus on the next round.
But make no mistake about it. This victory will live on for some time, as it should. It was not a run-of-the-mill first round series win. It’s a sign of the culture and belief Redick has instilled. The Lakers deserve to celebrate it.
“I’m so grateful to represent the Lakers,” Redick said. “I’m so grateful for our players. I’m so grateful for our staff. Doing this, it’s such a collective effort. I wish people understood how many people put their heart and soul into something just to try to go win a basketball game. It’s awesome.”
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
