03 April 2023 , 12:29
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The Los Angeles Lakers secured their 40th win of the season on Sunday night to keep their play-off hopes alive, and LeBron James is confident they can push for the NBA Championship despite lacking 'chemistry'.
The Lakers are in the hunt for a ticket to the postseason, in what's been a miraculous recovery following a woeful start. The Lakers were 2-10 towards the start of the season and couldn't get anything right, but their form has picked up at the perfect time.
There are just four games remaining for the Lakers to catch those ahead of them in the Western Conference, but they're almost guaranteed a spot at the NBA play-in tournament after the Dallas Mavericks suffered a devastating loss. James has aspirations for more than just making up the numbers, but admitted that they lack something that their rivals share.
Another 40-point game for Anthony Davis and the 107th triple-double of James' career inspired a damning 134-109 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday. James has returned from injury at the perfect time to help the Lakers, and is intent on making a serious title charge despite being one of the underdogs.
The Lakers may have tremendous quality, housing one of the greatest of all-time and one of the deadliest shooters in the league with a fully-fit Davis. But team chemistry is something that James is concerned about, although he hopes their ambitions will see them overcome that hurdle.
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"We just want to put ourselves in position to be able to compete for a championship," James said after the Lakers' 134-109 win. "It's a journey, and obviously, we don't have as much chemistry as a lot of other teams trying to compete for a championship or that have aspirations to win a championship, but I like what we've been building over the last month or so.
James and the Lakers have four huge games ahead in the NBA"Even when I was out for the four weeks, I liked what we've been building, and I'm happy to be back in the mix. These last four games are very important for our team.
"Not only in wins and losses but in the chemistry side of it, as well. We got to continue to build what we've been building over the last month or so. So, we'll see what happens."
The Lakers next travel to face Utah Jazz on Tuesday night before a huge Los Angeles clash against the Clippers the following day. Their regular season wraps up with home games against Phoenix Suns and the Jazz - with their NBA fate to be decided over Easter weekend.