The Los Angeles Lakers rightfully earned their status as one of the NBA’s great early stories, winning six of ten and then half of its first 20 games after seasons of 27, 21 and 17 wins. Working with new coach Luke Walton in the place of the disastrous and deadening Byron Scott, the team has showcased a joie de vivre that cannot completely be credited to a lone contributor.

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If two would be forced into that center stage, however, lead guard D’Angelo Russell and stalwart veteran Metta World Peace would seem be the most deserving characters at the postgame podium. Russell overcame a witheringly frustrating rookie year alongside Scott and Kobe Bryant to rally his team with buoyant, potent play while MWP introduced us to the idea of chanting “I LOVE BASKETBALL” as a go-to mantra for all free throw steadying and post-huddle breaks.

Coming off the desultory Byron Scott years, with Kobe firing away with the team’s consent, D’Angelo Russell can’t help but think of big things to come. Via Silver Screen and Roll, here’s his giddy breakdown of the past, present and future as told to ESPN the Magazine:

“I don’t want that ever again,” Russell says. “I don’t want to come in with a losing record. I don’t want to go to a losing team and you’ve got guys going every which way after practice — the chemistry just wasn’t there. I feel like with this team and with this organization, people want to be a part of it. People want to be Lakers.

“There’s just so much pressure, and some guys handle it and some guys can’t. I’ve always been a guy that, I don’t know, just attacks pressure. I want to be a part of this whole thing turning back around. I’ve seen what it was to be at its lowest point. I want to be a part of a playoff run this year … next year, Finals.”

The team has lost three straight of late, but remains just 2.5 games out of the last spot in the postseason. This time last year, both in terms of the NBA’s and December’s calendar, the Lakers were stuck at 3-17. Kobe was on a 6-34 shooting streak. All was not fun.

This is where Metta World Peace, the erstwhile big basketball brain behind, well, I LOVE BASKETBALL, can chime in with his usual effervescence. Sustaining the good cheer without acting too cloying.

But if MWP does want to get too sweet, go ahead. These young Lakers have earned it, right?

“I don’t want them to expect anything,” World Peace told Southern California News Group. “My whole message today was not to be entitled.”

Oh. OK, but … the Finals?

“If you’re in the Finals or playoffs,” World Peace said, “you don’t have time to worry about the other stuff.”

Well then.

Metta’s gripe, of sorts, came after he found his young Lakers to be a little too quick with the complaints when it came to observing the work of the referees recently. The 37-year old, who at the same age as D’Angelo Russell was working for a 2-18 Chicago Bulls team, didn’t like the team kvetching in the hours before its eventual 107-101 loss to the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

Injuries are a problem. Not only has Russell missed 10 of 11 games due to ongoing left knee soreness, worrying for someone born just two months before the Bulls won their 70th game of the 1995-96 season, but steadying replacement guard Jose Calderon is out as well. Nick Young has been a boon to the team’s offense and 28th-ranked defense and he’ll be out for a spell with a nasty calf sprain, while heady big forward Larry Nance Jr. is on the mend due to a knee injury.

Lou Williams managed 38 points and Jordan Clarkson 17 points off the Laker bench in the Utah loss, but it wasn’t enough. The team has done well to compete – losing by nine points in total to the Jazz and Grizzlies after being topped by 33 against the Raptors last Friday – but an already slight roster is feeling the effects of losing some of the most important parts of that 10-10 start.

There’s just no getting around it:

“We don’t make excuses,” rookie Brandon Ingram said. “But when you have this many injuries it can take its toll.”

Ingram is averaging 9.5 points on 33 percent shooting over his last four games (all starts) after being pressed into action as a starter. Forward Luol Deng, brought in to act as a bulwark against times like these, is averaging 8.7 points on 40 percent shooting over the same spell, raising his averages to a ghastly 6.8 points on 34 percent shooting as a Laker.

Story continues