On January 31st, the Los Angeles Lakers had a 24-25 record. They had recently suffered a defeat against the Atlanta Hawks, marking their fourth loss in seven games. This slump had resulted in a 9-14 record since mid-December, causing them to struggle in the NBA standings. They were tied for 9th place in the Western Conference, with only a 1.5-game lead over the Houston Rockets who held the 10th and final playoff spot.
Since LeBron James tweeted on January 31, the Lakers’ performance has improved significantly. They have achieved a record of 6-1.
Late that night, LeBron James (presumably) sent out a tweet featuring a single emoji: an hourglass. This was just one of many mysterious social media posts from the league’s leading scorer, leading to speculation that a significant change was on the horizon. Traditionally, as the trade deadline approaches at the end of January, James’ teams make necessary moves to strengthen their roster for the remainder of the season. Given the Lakers’ recent struggles, it seemed likely that a major shakeup was imminent.
However, the trade deadline passed without any major changes to the Lakers’ core, and Darvin Ham remains the head coach of the team. Despite this, the Lakers have been successful in winning basketball games.
Since that night in Atlanta, the Lakers have been on a remarkable winning streak. They started with a victory over the league-leading Boston Celtics, even with both James and Anthony Davis sitting out. In their last seven games, they have won six, with their only loss coming against the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Although their climb up the standings has been limited, they have narrowed the gap between themselves and the teams ahead of them, while also widening the distance from those below them. They currently hold the 9th place position, but are only 3.5 games behind the 6th place Pelicans. They also have a two-game advantage over the Warriors, whom they will face in their first game after the All-Star break.
Following the game against Golden State, the Lakers will face the Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama. This will be followed by a challenging two-game series against the Suns and Clippers.
According to the Source sportslens.com