Los Angeles Lakers are doing now what they should have all year long

After the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs the focus turned to losing and increasing the draft pick, which the team hasn’t done.

LeBron James insisted after the Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs that he would keep his competitive spirit alive and would not buy into a mini-tank to increase the team’s draft stock.

The Lakers were practically out of the playoffs far before the team was formally eliminated, which made it easier for the fans to focus on something else: losing games to move up in the lottery.

The Lakers are presumably going to be trying to add a second star this offseason and having a pick in the top seven or so could help that cause. Plus, it would give the team and increased shot at having a pick within the top four.

Los Angeles has not even been able to lose right as the team has won three of their last four games, something that would have been very useful in the midst of the playoff push. The only loss out of the last four games was the second leg of a back-to-back that LeBron sat for.

It is unfortunate that the Lakers have been winning as much as they have and if this continues the team could even fall to 12th in the NBA Draft, which is far less appealing than the sixth pick.

However, what we have seen in this mini-run by the Lakers is that the team is doing what they should have been doing the entire season: playing loose and having fun.

Is it cliche? Absolutely. Head coach Luke Walton even acknowledged that the team was playing loose against the Charlotte Hornets, which makes it appear as the easy thing to say.

It is more than just cliche and the Lakers have noticeably been looser on the court and it has actually been fun to watch them play. Just look at Lance Stephenson‘s ridiculous (and the even more ridiculous reaction from the bench) crossover of Jeff Green as an example.

There is absolutely nothing on the line and these guys are going out and just playing basketball. For most of the season that has not been the case with the team having so much to prove and the dynamic between LeBron and the young core being tense.

Just look at all of the leaked trade talks with the New Orleans Pelicans. That could not have been a fun environment to be in.

Don’t get me wrong, just having fun and playing loose would not have made the team instantly better. The Lakers got a lot of bad breaks this season and didn’t really get to field the best lineup often.

However, if LeBron James and company took themselves a little less serious until it gets time to kick it into gear, then maybe, just maybe, the Los Angeles Lakers can be better next season than they would have been otherwise.