LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — This is the land of in-between for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Games right now matter, in the sense that only three contests are left to build momentum for the postseason. And games right now don't matter, in the sense that the Lakers basically knew five months ago that they would be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
They lost again Thursday night, with LeBron James getting the night off in a defeat to the Houston Rockets. The Lakers are 2-3 so far in the bubble, and their offensive numbers are brutal.