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Western Conference Star Believes Lakers Will Make Another Deep Playoff Run

The league is becoming increasingly confident in the Lakers.

Martand Bhagavatula

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

A tough first half of the season featuring offensive woes, nonstop lineup changes, and nagging injuries enforced the narrative of this being yet another disappointing season for the Lakers.

Since the All-Star break, however, they've looked much better, especially on the offensive end. A starting lineup adjustment of Rui Hachimura instead of Taurean Prince has unlocked another layer of scoring explosiveness, as Hachimura is a better shooter and self-creator than Prince is by a large margin.

Defensively, the team has been worse, but much of that can be attributed to injuries to Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent. And, even in spite of that, with the way the modern NBA is, having an elite offense is a must come playoff time, something the Lakers possess for the first time in years.

As the team gets it together, Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards brought them up when discussing his playoff predictions:

LA defeated Minnesota just a couple of weeks ago, making Edwards' thoughts on the team's ability to make a run particularly relevant. A combination of size, athleticism, and starpower, and veteran play make LA a tough out that is bound to create havoc in the postseason, regardless of who the play.

On the subject of Edwards, LA could easily wind up playing Minnesota in the first round. The top of the West is a 3-team race between Oklahoma City, Denver, and Timberwolves, with there being a 1-game gap between the 1-seeded Thunder and the 3-seeded Timberwolves.

As LA is in play to be either the 7th or 8th seed, depending on how the play-in shakes out, the they could face off with any of those 3 teams. While their chances against Denver remain slim, they're more than capable of defeating the Thunder and Wolves across a series, especially given Minnesota's injuries.

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Martand Bhagavatula

MARTAND BHAGAVATULA

Martand is currently a student at the University of Southern California, and has prior experience in the NIL space, sports financial advisory, and publishing in sports analytics. As a Lakers, Chargers, and Angels fan, he often finds himself disappointed.