The Lakers caressed the sky after defeating the Golden State Warriors and get into the Western final

Right now they look like a fearsome team that can beat anyone, but for a very long part of the season they were an extremely vulnerable team that would collapse in any breeze.

Only four wins away from a Finals, unbeaten at home in the playoffs and with sky-high morale. That is the absolutely unexpected situation of the Los Angeles Lakers , sunk at the beginning of the course with an apocalyptic 2-10 and that this Friday they reached the final of the West defeating the current champions, the Golden State Warriors.

This is the Lakers’ first conference final since the 2020 ‘bubble’ and, apart from the pandemic season, their first appearance in this round since 2010, when the team of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol conquered their second ring.

These are days of wine and roses in the mecca of Hollywood and of overflowing illusion after many months of suffering, headaches and constant disappointment on the track.

But these fiercely competitive, reborn Lakers are already dreaming – in their own right – of the franchise’s 18th ring , which would make them the most decorated team in NBA history (now tied at 17 with their legendary rivals, the Boston Celtics).

Right now they look like a fearsome team that can beat anyone, but for a very long part of the season they were an extremely vulnerable team that would collapse in any breeze.

Not helped by injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis , now fully recovered and in admirable shape.

But the first key to his resurrection has to do with the movements in the office of the highly criticized Rob Pelinka, general manager and who changed the fortunes of his team just before the transfer limit.

Thus, the departure of the controversial and never integrated Russell Westbrook , the incorporation of fundamental pieces (D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt…) and the step forward of Austin Reaves were essential in this version 2.0 of the Lakers.

With a great 18-8 since the closing of the transfer market, the Angelenos knew how to create a very fast chemistry with the newcomers , they became one of the best defenses in the league and one of the most physical teams, and they went from being thirteenth in the West to seventh, which gave them (via ‘play-in’ against the Minnesota Timberwolves) access to the playoffs.

Already in the postseason, Davis has remembered his best version (21.2 points, 14.1 rebounds and 3.3 blocks on average with a 53% success rate), he has thrown the team on his back both in attack and playing anchor in defense, and now faces a major duel against another pivot in a state of grace, Nikola Jokic.

For his part, LeBron , 38 years old and two decades in the elite, has maintained a fantastic score (23.4 points on average plus 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists) and acts as the spiritual leader of someone who has been in a thousand battles. .

That maturity was noted, for example, when it came to not entering into the media ‘provocations’ of the rebellious Memphis Grizzlies, who were not on the pitch at the level of their irreverent statements before journalists.

Perhaps having walked through ‘hell’ together has contributed to the fact that the Lakers’ locker room is now a tremendously compact block without a single crack.

And in that positive inertia, in which Reaves, Russell or Hachimura have alternated to support Davis and LeBron, anything is possible, including the appearance of an unexpected but crucial hero like Lonnie Walker in the fourth game against the Warriors with 15 points in the last quarter.

With Darvin Ham consolidated and vindicated on the bench, the Lakers, the only ones capable of eliminating Curry’s Warriors in a playoff in eight years, now do not stop smiling and have the sky of the NBA at their fingertips.