The Los Angeles Lakers have won five games in a row! Who cares if it's only a one-game winning streak? With the team's record now at 29-37, it's critical to seize any opportunities that arise.

The victory over the Wizards on Friday was also anything but routine. LeBron James enthralled the home crowd once more, this time modestly stopping at 50 points, as he did in the Lakers' lone other victory since the All-Star break.

While those two games were exciting in the moment, the terrifying reality of the Lakers expecting such performances from a 37-year-old crept in. As we leave Friday's game in the rearview mirror, that terrifying fact becomes even scarier with the prospect of facing a significantly superior opponent than the Wizards.

Lakers Vs Suns Game Preview

The purple and gold could face the Suns in a seven-game postseason series. The 9th-seeded Lakers are 2.5 games ahead of the 10th-seeded Pelicans (and 3.5 games ahead of both the Spurs and Trail Blazers), making a play-in round appearance more likely by the day.

Isn't the idea of having to win two single-elimination games to be "rewarded" with a series against the Suns revolting? If you're a purple and gold fan who has been following both clubs this season, it should.

Will Sunday's game be an accurate representation of one of those first-round playoff games? Regrettably, the odds are that it will not. Both teams will be without one of their two superstars (sorry, Russ), as Chris Paul (right thumb fracture) and Anthony Davis (mid-foot sprain) are expected to be out for the rest of the season.

Without Paul, the Suns may be better than the Warriors without Draymond Green, the other team on LeBron's 50-piece.

On Monday,, we'll see if the Lakers can beat a solid team on the road without LeBron's historic performance. Alternatively, if they can do so with one, and assuming he even plays this game (the last time he dropped 50-plus, he had to sit out the next game with knee soreness).