Chuckleheads, this NBA season has caused a lot of controversy. How many steps is too many to be considered a travel? How many superstars is Lebron recruiting, and what will the team look like next year? How do the New York Knicks have so much money and continue to be so bad? That’s all great and, in time, fans might get the answers – but let’s look at the Lakers. Show Time is back, Magic is in charge, and, a few weeks ago, the team was going to consist of Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Now that all the trade talks have calmed down, the Lakers sit at 27-28: 3 games out of the final playoff spot in the West, with 25 games left to go.
For the Lakers to get to 50 wins, they would need to go 22-3 for the remainder of the season. Given that, the Lakers still must deal with 13 of the 25 games consisting of the Rockets, Nuggets, Thunder, Jazz, Warriors, Raptors, Clippers and the best team in the NBA to this point by record: the Bucks. With that schedule, the Lakers will not get to 50 wins; it might even be a struggle to get to 47 wins – which most experts think is the minimum wins to get into the playoffs. The upside if you are a Lakers fan is that the team is getting healthy. Lebron is getting healthier, but is still nursing a groin injury. Lonzo Ball is set to return, and Kuzma and the rest of the Lakers are looking to make the second-half playoff race very interesting, to say the least.
With a healthy roster, the Lakers appeared to be a top 4 team in the Western Conference. Now, the pieces of the “Show Time” puzzle are coming back together – just in time to make a playoff run. But what happens if they do sneak into the 8th seed in the West? Does Lebron’s season end the same way it has the past 4, at the hands of the Warriors? That is exactly how this season could play out. The Lakers have had some good wins – most recently right before the All-Star break when Rajon Rondo hit a put back against the Celtics with no time left on the clock. Without Lebron in the lineup, though, things have not been good on the floor, with the Lakers going 6-11 during his 17-game absence. The young players just don’t seem to be taking advantages of their time on the floor when Lebron is not in the lineup.
Let’s go back a little bit to last offseason: Magic Johnson and Lakers landed Lebron James, but acknowledged that this was still going to be a process. Did you believe that when it was said, chuckleheads? You shouldn’t have and here’s why: everywhere Lebron has gone there are two things for certain: the head coach and the young players have been on the cutting block. If the Lakers do not make the playoffs, the same will be true. Luke Walton will more than likely be out of a job, and the young players that seemed to be available for the Anthony Davis trade option will definitely be available and will be moved if they do not make the playoffs.
I think the Lakers sneak into that 8th seed in the West, and they will meet the Warriors, who will beat them in five games. Then Lebron will get on the recruitment trail – with Anthony Davis high on the Lakers and Lebron’s wish list. Kyrie Irving has said he wouldn’t rule out a reunion with Lebron – but that does not seem very likely. The other player that seems to be the one that is a lock to end up in LA is Kawhi Leonard, who seems to be heading for California once the season ends. Regardless, the Eastern Conference – as pointed out by Lebron – is all excited at the fact that the Eastern Conference Finals do not have to go through Lebron, as they have for the past eight seasons. Lebron will have his earliest exit of the playoffs in a long while, but will get healthy and come back stronger than ever in 2019-2020.
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