Lakers Playoff Watch: After 2 Straight Losses, LA In Danger Of Sliding Out Of Play-In
Your Los Angeles Lakers are reeling of late.
Yours truly always figured some kind of intense slide could be inevitable, due to the loss of the team's best player, All-Star small forward LeBron James, perhaps for the entire rest of the 2022-23 NBA season.
LA managed to stave off a dip in success initially after James went down, but now it appears the team is teetering on the brink of the fringes of Western Conference play-in tournament contention. Now, however, the team's luck just seems like it's running out.
With their second straight loss (and the Dallas Mavericks' win) last night, the 34-37 Lakers have now fallen to the West's overall No. 10 seed, just fractions of a win percentage point above the 33-36 Utah Jazz, who remain frisky even after team president Danny Ainge offloaded many of their veterans at this season's trade deadline.
I was optimistic about LA's play-in chances after James first went down (against Dallas, during the team's crazy 27-point comeback last month) but it just doesn't seem like it has a ton of margin for error now without the team's leading scorer.
The 12th-seeded, 33-37 New Orleans Pelicans (0.5 games behind Los Angeles) and the 13th-seeded, 31-39 Portland Trail Blazers (2.5 games back) are both nipping at the heels of the Jazz and Lakers too. If LA can't string some wins together, and fast, during its final 11 regular season contests, the team will miss the play-in tournament. To be fair, this is the kind of thing that happens when your best player misses your final 20 games!
Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!
