LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers and their fanbase considered Sunday's Christmas Day tilt against the Los Angeles Clippers to be a "must-win game," but zoom out on that notion for a moment to consider just how far expectations have wandered from reality. This is a team that posted a franchise-worst 17-65 record last season, features the league's youngest coach in 36-year-old Luke Walton and boasts a roster built around players not far from the legal drinking age. But then the Lakers opened the season with a 7-5 record, and suddenly, the perimeters for what seemed possible began expanding to unreasonable limits, including, yes, a playoff push.
Lakers continue to show that they're far ahead of schedule
