The Los Angeles Lakers remain defiant during an underachieving season, even as losses continue to mount and their playoff chances start to hang in the balance.
On Thursday night, the Lakers will face the host Los Angeles Clippers, who are in the midst of their own challenging season but have shown resilience amid crushing injuries.
Despite moving in opposite directions, the clubs entered Wednesday’s action side-by-side in the Western Conference standings, with the 33-31 Clippers in eighth place and the 27-34 Lakers in ninth.
Even though they have lost six of their last seven games, including three in a row, the Lakers are not lacking in confidence when it comes to closing the Clippers’ 4 1/2-game advantage in the standings.
“Obviously, at the end of the day we’ve got to come in here and win ballgames and we got to play better,” Lakers star LeBron James said. “But as long as we got more games to play, we still have a chance. So that’s my confidence. I hate losing.
“I feel like poop right now, but tomorrow is a new day, and I’m going to be prepared and ready for the Clippers on Thursday. But that’s just my mindset.”
The Clippers have played without star Kawhi Leonard all season and have been without Paul George since before Christmas, but the Lakers have dealt with their own injuries.
James has missed 17 games with a number of ailments — the absences include a one-game suspension — and has been playing through left-knee soreness. Star Anthony Davis is out indefinitely with an ankle injury after missing 17 games with a knee injury.
“Our confidence and my confidence in this group is extremely high because I know what we’re capable of when we put our mind to it and do exactly what we need to do on a night-in, night-out basis,” Lakers guard Russell Westbrook said.
The Clippers enter as winners of four consecutive games and six of their last seven.
One of those recent Clippers victories was 105-102 over the Lakers on Friday. Terance Mann had a team-leading 19 points for the Clippers in a balanced attack where seven players scored in double figures. Four of those with at least 10 points came off the bench.
It was the Clippers’ sixth consecutive victory over the Lakers, and while they won’t be taking over as Los Angeles’ team any time soon, they do have some bragging rights to throw around.
The Clippers will enter off a 113-100 road victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, their second consecutive victory at Houston. In fact, three of the Clippers’ victories in their winning streak have come against the Rockets.
Ivica Zubac, a former Laker, was the latest to step to the forefront for the Clippers with 22 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday.
“A lot of people wrote us off the map once they figured out who was hurt and who was injured, and they really don’t know what we got, and that says a lot for our group,” Mann said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who work hard and work on their game and are ready when their name’s called.”
