It's a good thing style points don't count, because the Lakers earned none of them in Wednesday's win over the Trail Blazers, 99-94 at crypto.com Arena. But a win is a win is a win, at least as far as the standings are concerned, and this was an important one. The Lakers put a themselves in position to leapfrog the Clippers with a win Thursday night and have a better chance of finishing in the seven or eight spot as opposed to the nine or ten. The former requires only one win to get into the big boy playoffs, the latter requires two. One is better. That said, it was an ugly game offensively for the Lakers, who got big games from Anthony Davis (more to come on him) and Carmelo Anthony (24 points) but not much else. And with LeBron out, when a couple other guys can't pick up the slack it can mean trouble. On the other end, the Lakers were better than they had been on the trip, even if aided by a pretty inept Blazers attack. Still, improvement is improvement, and the Lakers will take it. Davis, for his part, continues to play like the dominant, elite level guy the Lakers need him to be if they're going to have any shot at a late season run and some playoff success. If he's playing at a "top five" level, and LeBron is "Playoff LeBron" (definitionally a "top five" performer) that gives the Lakers two ultra-elite guys, which is something no other Western Conference team has. Is it possible Davis heard some of the criticism lobbed his way in his absence? How might Kobe have tried to motivate AD had that been the partnership? And is Talen Horton-Tucker feeling the pressure that comes with being at the center of trade rumors? Particularly since he's the only guy on the roster (only guy playing, at least) who is in them? It's a weird situation for sure. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: What an ugly win. What a badly needed win. SEGMENT 2: Anthony Davis is balling out, and if you're looking for reasons to be optimistic, that's the one to grab. SEGMENT 3: More on Davis, plus looking at THT's performance heading into the trade deadline. Are the rumors wearing on him? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. PrizePicks Don’t hesitate, check out PrizePicks.com and use promo code: “NBA” or go to your app store and download the app today. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices