After the Lakers dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, the modern media take machines asked the only logical questions.
Could the Lakers win the West? Had they turned the corner? Could they somehow finish in the top four in the conference?
You could almost feel the segment producers readying Wednesday night, the Lakers running all over the Kings in a win that could vault them up the standings. The Kings’ high-motor offense had stalled with the Lakers’ replicating the defensive intensity they played with on Monday. And the Lakers’ offense rolled — the ball found the open shooter and the open shooter hit all the big shots.