Los Angeles Lakers: Top 4 games from the 2018-19 season

1. Christmas Day tragedy, then a miracle

This game was the turning point for the entire season for the Los Angeles Lakers.

There were so many things to dissect about this game when it was all over.

LeBron scored 17 points and grabbed 13 boards before he was unceremoniously taken out of the game with a groin injury, the first major injury of his career.

Before he was injured the game seemed to be more of the same with LeBron and Zubac continuing their recent stellar play in the pick and roll.

But, after LeBron went down, most people expected the Lakers to crumble under the glory of the Golden State Warriors, but that was far from the case.

This game post LeBron injury was filled with everything. Excellent pick and roll play between Rondo and Zubac, third-quarter buzzer-beater, Lance Stephenson air guitar, and even a nasty Svi Mykhailiuk ankle breaker during garbage time.

The Lakers would go on to destroy the eventual losers of the 2019 NBA Finals by 26 points, but this would serve as the initial catalyst that would begin the derailment of the Lakers playoff hopes.

Regardless of whether or not you consider the Lakers season a success or not, there are a number of things that should make you optimistic about the current direction of the franchise.

We should be excited about the future, but it’s nice to go back and remember what brought us here in the first place.

The Lakers have a great team, one that can 100% contend for a title next season. Barring catastrophic injuries, there is no reason why I should not be back on here writing about the Lakers playing in their first NBA Finals since 2010.

Only time will tell.