Only seven games remain in the season, which leaves the Lakers focusing on building off Wednesday’s win over Miami in order to close out the year with some momentum to spring upon.
“Just going into the summer with a positive note,” D’Angelo Russell said at Friday's practice. “If we can win the next few games, it’d be great. It’s also Kobe (Bryant)’s last go-around, so just (I’m) just really trying to cherish every moment I’ve got with that guy.”
Russell and Bryant have garnered much attention over the past week. Before the Miami game, the former apologized for an incident between himself and Nick Young, while the latter played only nine minutes due to “general soreness.”
Head coach Byron Scott is trying to keep his players locked in on the court, rather than the increased coverage of the team, including Russell.
“We know it’s going to be something that’s ongoing and something that’s going to be talked about for a while,” Scott said. “We can’t control that. What we can control are the things that we can control in here, which is to come in ready to work every single day.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Clarkson claimed that the experience of the past week can be a positive development in the long run, as the team will need to come together to trudge past it.
“I feel like it’s kind of brought us closer a little bit,” Clarkson said. “Trying to stay strong for each other. At the end of the day, we have to still come here and see each other every day. We’ve got to work and figure out how to win games.”
As the season reaches its conclusion, Bryant continues to try to rehab his body for the final 13 days of his career. The 18-time All-Star has a landmark contest coming up on Sunday when he faces the rival Boston Celtics for the final time.
“The good thing is he got two days off — three days, really,” Scott said. “I expect him to play until I hear differently.”