Darvin Ham's Lakers prepare to be 'best version of ourselves'

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham opened up his team's final stretch of the season after the All-Star break by stating Los Angeles' goal loud and clear: The Lakers don't want to just make the playoffs, they want to avoid the play-in tournament.

«The goal is for us to come out and try to be the best version of ourselves each game, but definitely, if we can go and secure a spot, that is our goal right there,» Ham said. «If we fall into a play-in situation, so be it. But our No. 1 goal is to go secure a spot, not just throw games off here or there [and] just wish for a play-in. We want to go secure a spot.»

The Lakers, 27-32, are currently 13th in the Western Conference — 2.0 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 10th seed and 3½ games behind the Dallas Mavericks for No. 6.

If the last time the Lakers took the court is any indicator of what's in store for the rest of the season, they should be in good shape. In its last game before the break, L.A. controlled the New Orleans Pelicans from the opening tip and won 120-102, excelling on both ends.

Still, time is not on the Lakers' side, and it's a major aspiration for a team that was completely overhauled leading up to the trade deadline. They're still so new that they have yet to have a full practice with every player available to participate, as LeBron James was given Wednesday off after reporting to Salt Lake City over the weekend as the franchise's lone All-Star representative other than two-way player Scotty Pippen Jr., who played in the Rising Stars game.

There are 23 games remaining in the schedule, which James already called 23 of the «most important games» of his career, but L.A.'s hopes of securing the No. 6 seed could be determined by