Two days after the Lakers were saying it would almost never be easy, almost never came to town.
The Washington Wizards, who have won a league-low six times, were the cure for the Lakers after a loss Sunday to the Clippers exposed a number of their weaknesses. The postgame morale was low, LeBron James and JJ Redick openly discussing how their roster wouldn’t be able to organically improve an already narrow margin for error.
But with the midway point of the season here Tuesday, the Lakers (23-18) saw the one team in the NBA bad enough to make anyone — even the Lakers — feel like they’ve got it figured out.