The Lakers are currently sitting in 13th seed in the west. And after making some very shrewd trades leading up to deadline day, they're looking like they could be a force to be reckoned with.
But there won't be any force at all if they don't get into that magical 10th spot or above.
It all relies on their next 10 games - Take a look at this.
Warriors x 3, Timberwolves, Blazers, Okc and the Pelicans. They're the main events.
All sitting within touching distance of the 25-31 lakers. You feel like they're going to have to take home almost all seven of those games be able to stand a chance of making the playin.
Steph is out for at least the first matchup against the warriors, possibly the second two but according to sources he will be re-evaluated after the all star break.
With Zion still out, they have to overcome their loss last week and adjust accordingly. Even with a monster game from AD they weren't able to get over the line. But they can.
OKC is another team they fell short to last week, allowing 6 players into double digits in the scoring column. The roster changes and adjustments SHOULD take care of that.
The Lakers have beat the blazers comfortably in their last two meetings - no reason why this should be any different.
Dlo and Vanderbilt will be welcome presences on the defensive aswell as the offensive end, they are both very underrated defenders in my opinion. I'll be intrigued to see how Mo Bamba is used. Hopefully he doesn't get too much playing time unless AD is at the 4, (don't like the thought), otherwise the lakers will be in deep shit.
If they do pull this off and they gain a .500 record or above, the playin chances are real for them. If they miss out on the top 10 spots altogether then their season is a catastrophic failure beyond measure.
An MVP calibre player like Lebron should be sitting comfortably in a playoff spot, not fighting for his life at the bottom of the heap.
I've made my feelings clear before - once the Lakers are in the playin, there's no stopping them.
If everyone is healthy they could give the number one seed a series to remember and might even go in as favourites. Everything is circumstantial of course - they have to make it through this run first.
Let's go.
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