After the Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston on Friday night to clinch the Pacific Division title and the third seed in the playoffs with their 50th victory of the season, their postgame celebration was both wild and wet.
The jubilant shouts and roars from their locker room could be heard through the cement walls of the tunnel in their downtown arena. The aquatic element of the festivities became obvious moments later when coach JJ Redick emerged with damp hair and wearing a green Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt, which he called "the only dry item of clothing I have."
"Hopefully, in the next nine days, the $17,000 in damage to the carpet can get fixed," Redick said jokingly. "There was about eight ice buckets put on me."
Redick and his players had earned a few moments of fun. A team led by a rookie head coach and LeBron James has navigated through a massive midseason trade, survived several recent setbacks and emerged as a clear contender for a deep playoff run.
And perhaps even a title challenge for a franchise with 17 banners already in the rafters?
"I feel like we can win a championship, to be honest with you," Austin Reaves said. "The reason for that is I know everybody in that locker room believes that."
James didn't speak to the media after the game, but Luka Doncic echoed Reaves' assessment of the Lakers' belief in their championship quality after they wrapped up the division with their seventh win in 10 games down the stretch.
"I think we have the team to do it," said Doncic, who scored 39 points in three quarters against the Rockets. "When everybody is locked in, we're a hard team to beat, so that's our goal."
The goal seems increasingly realistic, which is even more impressive because this version of the Lakers has
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