Lakers Playoff Watch: LA Is Climbing Up The West Postseason Ladder
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Your resurgent Los Angeles Lakers are inching closer to securing a postseason berth this year, even without the services of All-Star small forward LeBron James.
LA's roster, fortified with a mixture of incumbent players and trade additions, has really come together in recent weeks, congealing around star center Anthony Davis in a surprisingly complimentary way.
Los Angeles is currently riding high on a three-game win streak, having most recently taken down some direct competition for a West play-in spot, the Oklahoma City Thunder, on Friday despite missing James, fellow starter D'Angelo Russell, and bench big Mo Bamba. The Lakers have gone 12-6 since all their trade pieces passed their physicals following the February 9th deadline.
Last night, LA broke out of a four-team tie in its conference thanks to that marginal victory over the Thunder. The defeat dropped Oklahoma City to a 36-38 record, while the similarly 36-38 Dallas Mavericks lost their third straight game on Friday, to a banged-up, tanking Charlotte Hornets team no less, and dipped out of the play-in picture. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Kyrie Irving's impending free agency. The 36-37 Pelicans, the other club in that four-team tie, were off yesterday, but are trending upwards thanks to the improved play of ex-Laker Brandon Ingram.
At 37-37, the Lakers currently rank eighth in the West. But there's a chance Los Angeles could skip the play-in tournament entirely, with a little luck and continued good play.
LA is just 1.5 games behind the fifth-seeded Phoenix Suns (38-35) and the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors (39-36). If Los Angeles can keep stringing together wins like this, there's a chance the club may avoid the play-in bracket entirely and go straight to the playoffs!
Nothing is guaranteed at this juncture, especially with the fates of James and to a lesser extent Russell up in the air. A two-game home-and-home series against the middling Chicago Bulls, which kicks off tomorrow, could be just what the doctor ordered for LA to climb over .500 for the first time all year.
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