Against seemingly all odds, after stat geeks gave them only a 0.3% chance of doing so early in the season, the Los Angeles Lakers made it to the 2023 NBA playoffs. They had to blitz through the final six weeks of their schedule and survive a scare in the play-in tournament versus the Minnesota Timberwolves just to get there.
Once there, they faced the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, an edgy team led by the mercurial Ja Morant. Many figured the Lakers were about to experience an early playoff exit at the hands of Memphis despite their best efforts.
