Editor’s note: This is the Monday, Feb. 27 edition of the Purple & Bold Lakers newsletter from reporter Kyle Goon. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.
Coming to you on the heels of a wild ride through Texas and back on track with Weekly Resets …
WEEK IN REVIEW
• Thursday, W, Lakers 124, Golden State Warriors 111
• Sunday, W, Lakers 111, Dallas Mavericks 108
As of Monday morning, the Lakers (29-32) are in 12th place in the Western Conference standings, and they are 13½ games behind the first-place Denver Nuggets (43-19). They’re one game behind the New Orleans Pelicans (30-31) for a play-in slot (seeds 7-10) and 2½ games behind the Dallas Mavericks (32-30) for a top-six spot.
HIGH POINT: How about the biggest comeback of the NBA season? Does that qualify? The Lakers stunned the Mavericks on the road, grinding back from a 27-point deficit with ball pressure and points in the paint. Anthony Davis had 30 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, while Jarred Vanderbilt was a bolt of lightning after halftime that helped spark the team into the franchise’s best rally from down big in 21 years.
LOW POINT: It’s time to hold your breath for more injury news. In that same game, LeBron James landed awkwardly on his right foot, then labored through the remainder. While James played well enough down the stretch to help the Lakers win, he had a nasty limp on the way out of American Airlines Center that should make fans a little nervous about the other shoe dropping – so to speak.
TRENDING TOPIC: Vanderbilt is the most popular new Laker since …
Let’s allow that to marinate (e-mail me your answer if you wish). The 23-year-old has been a hit in L.A. since his arrival from Utah, perhaps a sign of what the Lakers have been missing as much as an individual standout. With a 6-foot-9 frame and a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Vanderbilt thrives in chaos, creating deflections, leaping for rebounds, and running in transition. He’s been a perfect…
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