Will The Lakers Make The Play-In Tournament And Playoffs?
One of the biggest surprises of the 2021-22 NBA season has been the downfall of the Los Angeles Lakers. Many thought this team would have what it takes to win another title, but acquiring Russell Westbrook is starting to look like one of the worst moves the Lakers could have made this past offseason and age is starting to become a big factor for Los Angeles.
On top of all of their problems, Anthony Davis has been another disappointment for them, as the All-Star big man just cannot stay healthy. It is just one thing after another with Davis in terms of health and since arriving in Los Angeles ahead of the 2019-20 season, Anthony Davis has played in just 67% of his team’s total games.
LeBron James is the only factor for the Lakers at 37-years-old, which is why this franchise is starting to plummet downwards from the top of the NBA.
Now just 27-31 coming out of the All-Star break, the Lakers are just 2.5 games in front of the Portland Trail Blazers for the 9-seed in the Western Conference and are inching dangerously close to falling out of the play-in tournament range entirely.
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Ultimately, the Lakers will probably make the play-in tournament, but making the playoffs is a completely different picture.
Anthony Davis is going to be out through at least the end of February after suffering an ankle/foot injury on Feb. 16 against the Utah Jazz and it is not hard to believe he will miss some time at the start of March.
With Russell Westbrook not being productive, Carmelo Anthony still nursing a hamstring injury and the Lakers having no bench production, it is basically LeBron James versus whoever the Lakers will draw in the play-in tournament at this rate.
Maybe they can slip through the cracks and actually make the real playoff field through the play-in tournament, but then they will draw either the Suns or Warriors in the first-round, two teams that they stand no chance against in a seven-game series.
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Disappointment is the key word to describe the Lakers franchise right now and a major rebuild is on the horizon for one of the most promising organizations in the NBA.
