Sports psychologists will tell you visualisation is one of the best tricks athletes have up their sleeve. It sounds strange, but just imagining yourself succeeding can really work. The folks at the NIH have done the studies: when athletes picture themselves nailing a shot or making a play, their brains actually build stronger neural pathways. Their muscle memory sharpens up, too. Basically, seeing yourself do something makes it more likely you’ll actually pull it off when it counts.

But here’s the catch, at least if you’re Nico Echavarria. He doesn’t often get flashes of the future.

“Not very often,” he said with a laugh on Sunday. “I can’t remember the last time I told my wife I was going to win a tournament.”

Echavarria’s not exactly out here claiming psychic powers. All those Raven-Symoné or Nostradamus moments? Pretty rare for him. But last week, something felt different. He was with his new wife, Claudia, and his financial advisor, John Koufax, at an event, and he just blurted it out.

“We were at Panther National for the Evans Scholar Foundation,” he said. “I told them, ‘Hey, I think I can win this week.’ I’d played the Bear’s Club that morning. Hit it great. Felt good about my game.”

Was it just a random burst of confidence? A hunch? Whatever it was, it stuck. And up the road from those courses, at PGA National, Echavarria went out and made good on his words. He rattled off three rounds in the mid-60s at the Cognisant Classic, including a clutch 66 on Sunday to lock up his third PGA Tour win in the Palm Beaches. Two shots clear of the field, just like he called it.

Of course, nothing about this win was straightforward. Shane Lowry looked set to run away with it, carrying a big lead into the infamous Bear Trap, only to stumble hard at the end. That opened the door, and Echavarria didn’t hesitate. Maybe he didn’t see every twist coming, but he’d had a feeling something was about to break his way.

“I felt like things were starting to click,” Echavarria said. “Riviera went well, even though I didn’t drop a single putt and missed the cut by one. But I knew Bermuda greens would be more my style, and I’d have a chance to do something.”

Playing close to home, with greens that finally felt comfortable underfoot, Echavarria’s vision turned into reality on Sunday night. Looking back, maybe it shouldn’t be a shock he pulled it off; he saw it coming.

“I think the rain helped the greens. Friday, they were a little crunchy, but Saturday and Sunday, absolutely perfect,” he said. “I’m just really happy I moved down here, won this event, and got to represent my country.”

The Lakers have been trying to find some energy since the All-Star break, but things haven’t really clicked. They’ve slipped to sixth in the West, and with only a two-game cushion over the Suns, their spot outside the play-in isn’t exactly safe.

Before their game against the Kings, the Lakers decided to shake up their usual pregame ritual. Normally, LeBron James tosses the ball in the air, and the team drops into a squat together. This time, though, it was Rui Hachimura taking LeBron’s place.

Apparently, Luka Doncic wasn’t impressed with Hachimura’s attempt at the routine. He didn’t hold back in his postgame press conference, either. When someone asked about Hachimura stepping in for LeBron, Doncic just laughed and said, 'Never again. Never again. He was terrible.”

Honestly, Hachimura didn’t quite nail it, but for this matchup, it didn’t really matter. The Kings haven’t exactly set the world on fire offensively; they’re near the bottom of the league. The Lakers, who had dropped five of their last eight, just needed to get back in the win column, and they did.

Maybe Hachimura should botch the pregame routine more often if it leads to wins. He moved to the bench a few weeks ago, and the results have been inconsistent. With him out of the starting lineup, the Lakers are missing a strong wing defender, and that’s been obvious at times.

As for Doncic, he’s just looking for ways to keep things light while the Lakers try to get back on track. Beating bad teams is still progress, and right now, the Lakers need every win they can get.

Health has been a huge issue for the Lakers all season. It actually started before opening night; LeBron was dealing with sciatica, missed the first month, and took a while to get back into form. Austin Reaves has had his own injury problems lately, too.

Doncic has missed a few games here and there, but nothing serious yet. Now, finally, the team is healthy as the season enters the home stretch. If they want to avoid the play-in, they have to keep it that way.

They’ve struggled on defence, ranking ninth-worst in the league. Now that everyone’s back, they need to find some chemistry, especially with Doncic, James, and Reaves all sharing the floor. It hasn’t been easy.

With a pretty average remaining schedule, there’s a real chance for the Lakers to climb the standings as long as they stay healthy and start clicking together.