After Friday's massive win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers are now 9-12 to start the season. They're still three games below .500, but it's hard to deny that LeBron James and Co. have made significant strides of late — especially considering how they were 2-10 just a few weeks ago.

LeBron was a force against the Bucks, going off for 28 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. After the game, he sent out a stern reminder to the rest of the NBA as he saw his Lakers climb in the standings after their huge victory:

“Long road trip. Just starting,” LeBron said. “Good start. We wanted this win with coach Ham coming back, and we played like that. We're a team that's climbing, man. We want to continue to get better.”

The Lakers still have a long way to go, but it's hard for fans not to get excited after their latest win. Not only did they hand Giannis and Co. a defeat in their home court on the day that Khris Middleton made his season debut, but this victory also saw LA climb to just 5.5 games behind the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference.

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The Lakers are still 12th in the West, but it is worth noting that only 3.5 games separate the fourth and 12th seeds in the conference. That's how tight the race currently is, which means that a few more wins for LA should see them climb even further in the standings.

The Lakers have a tough stretch ahead, though, with their next five games all on the road. A few more wins on this road spell and the Lakers should be back in contention out West.