ATLANTA — The bar for the Lakers to clear Friday night to look functional was remarkably low, a pair of unimaginably bad losses in Minnesota and Miami making “don’t get embarrassed” the only hurdle the Lakers needed to clear.
But the goals, even after two brutal performances, are higher than that.
The Lakers, while technically 70 points worse than the Timberwolves and the Heat, have shown that they can be a winning team, a team that can share the ball, that can hit shots and, on occasion, be a team that can credibly defend.