Lakers News: Experts Predict Postseason Finish For LA

Your Los Angeles Lakers have had a solid go of it since dealing for D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley -- and, uh, Mo Bamba and Davon Reed, but more so the other three! -- in the 24 hours leading up to this season's trade deadline. The team has gone 11-6 and boasts the best defense in the league over that timeline.

On a recent episode of his podcast The Lowe Post, ESPN's Zach Lowe recently spoke with Sirius XM's Eddie Johnson, who's also a Phoenix Suns broadcaster, about the state of the Lakers.

"I think if he had this group at the beginning of the year, they'd be right up there with everybody else. I like their team. And so because of that -- too many changes -- I think it's been a mini-struggle for them, but they've played well, they've played as good as anybody over the last number of weeks. So yeah I think they could still get in. I don't know if they can get into the top six, but I think they can get into the play-in."

"I think Schröder, the humble pie he had to eat to go back to the Lakers was the best move of his career, I think he's playing splendidly. I like their young guys. Vanderbilt was a huge pick-up for them, I know the Suns were trying to get him, during this whole entire first half of the year, and I can see why."

Lowe responded by noting that LA could fare pretty well in the postseason -- provided a certain someone is back at more or less full strength by then.

"If they survive into the play-in, and he comes back either before then or doing then, they're not good enough to have, like, 75% LeBron just being... [a] big Jason Kidd just out on the perimeter directing traffic," Lowe opined. "They need LeBron to do what he's been doing this season to really have a chance."

At 36-37, Los Angeles is currently in a four-team tie near the bottom of the Western Conference play-in bracket. By benefit of owning some inter-team tiebreakers, LA is currently slotted in as the ninth seed in the West, behind the 36-37 Dallas Mavericks but ahead of the 36-37 New Orleans Pelicans and tonight's opposition, the 36-37 Oklahoma City Thunder.

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