We're going to do that and try to put our best basketball out there. But if the matchup with the Lakers has become overwhelming to the Spurs, living up to the greatest playoff runs in league history is almost as daunting to the Lakers. And just as the Spurs can't avoid Los Angeles, the Lakers can't completely avoid the challenge of history. The most important thing is winning this season. And yet it's distinction.
Distinction is always something teams like to rise to.
So you're playing the best teams in the league. It's against the other teams that you make hay. In the playoffs, against the best teams in the league, and you have an opportunity to go on a tear like we've been on, it represents something, and that something is a distinction that this team really prides itself in now. And while they see themselves as just one win from the Finals, the Lakers know they are also five victories from setting an unbeatable standard of postseason dominance. Close to leaving the league behind, they know they can run past its previous champions along the way.