LOS ANGELES — Rob Pelinka’s face might’ve been on a milk carton in Los Angeles three months ago, sitting on his hands as another Lakers season spiraled in front of his eyes and unwilling to make significant moves to change his team’s fortunes.
But as he sat with a look of satisfaction mere feet away from a laughing and hooting home-team bench in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, he didn’t have to take a bow and receive flowers in honor of a team that has just as strong a chance as any of advancing to the NBA’s final four.