Los Angeles Lakers: The eight most important games for the playoff push
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming out of the All-Star Break hot with a two-game win streak. LA is now 7.5 games back of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the NBA All-Star Break riding a three-game losing streak. Los Angeles continued the cap space efforts by trading Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaiah Thomas and a 2018 first round pick. With the loss of Clarkson and Nance and the addition of Thomas, the Lakers defense floundered.
The already underperforming defense looked awful in that three-game set. Los Angeles allowed 130 points twice, 130 to the Mavericks and 139 to the Pelicans, and lost 119-110 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
That losing streak separated the gap further between the Lakers and a potential eighth seed in the Western Conference. Now, the team is 7.5 games back of making the first team’s first playoffs since 2013.
The bottom of the Western Conference is a jumbled mess with five teams within 2.5 games of the bottom three seeds and seven teams within four games of the fourth-seeded San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers are obviously not one of those teams.
Even if the Lakers fail to make the postseason this year has been a great step forward. The Lakers won just 26 games last season, the most since they won 27 in 2013-2014. LA currently has 25 wins with 23 games remaining.
The Los Angeles Lakers do have a lot of ground to make up on the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, but it is ground that could be made up with one hot streak. With that being said, what games are the most important for LA as they make the late playoff push?