3 Lakers Bold Predictions Coming Out of the All-Star Break
By Cem Yolbulan
The Lakers Will Win at Least One Playoff Series
The Lakers have won six of their last six games with the only loss coming against the Denver Nuggets.
Los Angeles with LeBron James has consistently played better later in the season, most recently demonstrated by their 15-7 finish last year after the All-Star break. With Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura rounding into form, LeBron James and Anthony Davis being healthy, and trade rumors no longer hanging over the head of the team, the Lakers are a good bet to go on a run in the final stretch.
Fortunately for the Lakers, they are only 3.5 games behind the fifth-place Phoenix Suns. They will certainly look to secure a playoff spot and avoid the play-in but they proved last year that they are more than capable to win the series as a lower-seed. Even if LeBron & Co. make the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed, no one in the West will want to face them in the first round.
This is especially true if the Lakers end up matching up with a young team like the Oklahoma City Thunder or a team with minimal playoff experience like the Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles will feel pretty good about their chances of pulling off an upset against either of these teams.
No team in the Western Conference looks unbeatable. There is no world-beater like the Boston Celtics in the West, making the road to the NBA Finals wide open. This should make Lakers fans feel hopeful heading into the postseason, although they will need to figure out how to beat the Nuggets to truly be a contender.