After a statement win over the Houston Rockets, Luka Donฤiฤ made it clear โ the Lakers arenโt just hoping to compete. Theyโre aiming to conquer.
Los Angeles locked up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 117โ103 victory in Houston on April 11, ensuring home-court advantage for the opening round of the playoffs. While several stars sat out the following game in Portland, the job was already done.
โVery important,โ Luka said postgame. โItโs gonna be my first time having home-court advantage, so Iโm really excited about it. That was our goal.โ
The win capped a 50โ32 regular season, a major milestone in JJ Redickโs first year as head coach.
๐ “We Have the Team to Do It”
With nine days to rest and prepare before their playoff opener, Donฤiฤ isnโt just recharging โ heโs locking in.
โThe good part of the season is coming, so I gotta stay ready, stay locked in. But for sure, a little bit of rest is gonna be great for me.โ
The Lakers will face the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round โ a team they split the regular season series with, 2โ2. Game 1 is set for April 19 at Crypto.com Arena.
Asked about Austin Reavesโ championship comments, Luka doubled down.
โYes, thatโs gotta be our only goal โ and thatโs our only goal. We have the team to do it. When everybody is locked in, weโre a hard team to beat.โ
Not Just Luka and LeBron
The Luka-LeBron duo has been electric, but Donฤiฤ isnโt making it about just the stars.
โItโs gonna be hard to stop us. But itโs not just me and LeBron. We have a great team around us. Everybody helps us in so many ways. So if we wanna win the championship, itโs gonna take all of us.โ
The message is clear: This Lakers team believes it’s built for a deep run.a
