The Lakers have 24 games left to salvage what has been a very forgettable season. I swear this year has seemed a lot like the LAA Angels season last year. I kept waiting and waiting to see the team turn the corner and string a bunch of wins together and crawl back into the playoff picture. Unfortunately, the Angels didn't get there and I think it is going to be tough for the Lakers to avoid sitting on their couches licking their wounds come playoff time.
The last time the Lakers were at .500 was December 28th and they celebrated getting to that point by embarrassingly losing 6 games in a row. What is wrong with this team? What is right with this team? How can a team with so much talent keep losing games? Those are the questions people have been asking all season and frankly it is getting quite tiring to hear. I keep getting so much flak for being a Laker fan and putting up with the constant drama and this season the consistent losses. However, my allegiances will continue to be with the best franchise in sports.
The Lakers finally looked like they were stringing together some solid wins. Beating Boston, Portland and Dallas before being outgunned by a surging Denver squad. Kobe Bryant has been his other-worldly self of late. The 40 points he put up on Dallas was something magical. He seemed to just score at will whenever he felt like it. It was vintage Kobe and it seems that with every season you wait for him to fade, but he just gets stronger near the end of the season. He knows what he has to do to get this team into the playoffs.
3 games behind Houston and 3 and 1/2 games behind Utah. One issue with this is that they don't play Utah again this season and they only play Houston once more. Which is the last game of the season and could have some major playoff implications. I think the Lakers need to win at least 18 more games to have a serious shot at making the playoffs. That means they have to win and win now.
Luckily, the Laker schedule isn't too difficult the rest of the season. They only play San Antonio, OKC and LAC once more each and they still get to play Sacremento (twice), Orlando, Toronto, Washington, Minnesota (twice) and New Orleans (twice). The schedule is manageable as long as the Lakers can tweak a few issues with the team right now. Mainly defense. They still give up way too many lay-ups and playoff teams can't do that.
The Lakers have had a forgetful season to this point, but don't for one second think that Kobe Bryant, even in his advanced age, can't lead a team to the playoffs. He has the determination and the game to lead a team. He is going to need a little help, but there is a reason this is a team sport. The Lakers will end the season 46-36 and in the 7th spot in the west. And, I know for a fact that no team wants to see them in the first round of the playoffs.
Back to the Los Angeles Lakers Newsfeed