Lakers Game 3 takes everyone

It's been two weeks since the Lakers played in front of their home crowd, but when fans arrive for Game 3, Round 1 on Thursday, they'll be greeted with gold T-shirts over their seats. On the playoff tees, a variety of eclectic fonts form the phrase: “The Pursuit Takes Everybody.”

Although the Lakers' playoff appearance has been in doubt for months, the team was never deterred by the uncertainty. They continued to focus on what they could control, they stayed focused itself. The result was the feeling of being “free to play,” a phrase coined by the players. It shows their ability to tune out the noise and bring out the sparks of joy that are sandwiched between the pressures and expectations of the sport they have always loved.

“I think we came together as a group,” Austin Reaves said in his walk-off interview after he and the Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 10. “Throughout the year we had people on and off, but at some point something just started to click. We don't really do anything else. We just make more shots, make the extra passes and really enjoy playing the game together.”

Two months earlier, the team found itself in the midst of uncertainty when it faced the Dallas Mavericks in mid-January. But that night, the streamers had fallen high above the rafters of the Crypto.com Arena. They lay, bouncing over rows of seats and hardwood, as D'Angelo Russell left the court. The fans stretched their arms over the side walls of the stanchions as he walked past them to the players' tunnel. “DLo!” they shouted. Before entering the tunnel, which cast a purple-gold light on his face, he held both hands above his head to cheer for more fans who were chanting his name.

That night, Russell led his team offensively, rivaling Luka Dončiċ's 33 points with 29 points of his own. His teammates showed the same energy and together they achieved a 127-110 victory.

With fans still cheering behind him, D'Angelo turned the corner to the locker room, looked into the camera in front of him and announced, “Huge, huge, tough win for us.” It took everyone.”

It was a clear point, a simple observation. D'Angelo had no idea what would become of his one-off summary. Nobody did it.

Now, three months later, it's Game 82 and the Lakers have soundly defeated the Pelicans in New Orleans. Due to the way the West turned out, the team stayed in NOLA to face the Pelicans again in the play-in tournament. This game wasn't that easy to win. Future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis shot 12-for-36.

“We played well,” James said. “And everyone contributed. There weren't many games where me and AD shot the ball like that. I think we were 12-for-36 from the field. But the rest of the guys picked us up, so AD and I just tried to do everything else we could.”

Austin Reaves confirmed LeBron's point: “He looked at me and said, 'I can't remember the last time I shot 6-of-20,' and basically praised the team for getting that win,” Reaves said .

LeBron called his playoff berth “an all-around team victory.”

The next day marked the start of a whole new season, 0-0. But the remedy for the struggle remained the same: success takes everyone.

Takes Everybody is when a team without its superstars defeats the most dominant team in the East, 114-105 in Boston. It's the one you hear competing with the “home crowd” during an “away game” to score a 21-point comeback in the fourth quarter. That's how a team now 12 games over .500 fought its way through the unforgiving Western Conference to secure seventh place and a push into the playoffs.

Takes Everybody isn't this kumbaya, hand-in-hand campfire sing-along. This is how you show up in the midst of doubt when your back is against the wall. It's an aggressive cooperation, a responsibility that promotes responsibility – because if you don't recognize your part in all of this, the middle gets out of balance.

Takes Everybody isn't about when things are going in your favor, it's about when things aren't. Takes Everybody is the way you react after watching your opponent's game-winning shot fall at the buzzer. It means coming home 2-0 in Round 1 against a team you haven't beaten yet – coming home to a sold-out arena that still believes. You will be able to hear the evidence.

“We already know what we're going to get from our home fans,” LeBron said before Game 3. “To be honest, it felt like it's been forever since we played here. …Yeah, it seems like that long, so we hope they're excited because we're looking forward to it.”

This is the first time in two weeks, the first time all playoffs have taken place all will be together, 18,997 people pack the arena ready to be heard; ready to answer.