With the regular season quickly coming to a close, we predict how many more games the Los Angels Lakers need to win to make the Play-In Tournament.
With 11 games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers, without LeBron James who is still sidelined with a foot injury, are 11th in the standings but just a half-game our of the final Play-In Tournament spot in the Western Conference. Without much margin for error, every game remaining on the Lakers’ schedule will prove to weigh heavily on the team’s chances of reaching this year’s NBA postseason.
While the team continues to hold out hope that LeBron could return at some point before the end of the season, it’s hard for the Lakers to bank on that late-season spark to carry them into the postseason. With no assumption that LeBron will even be back this season, it makes the Lakers’ chances of qualifying for the postseason that much more difficult. However, the good news is that the finish line is visible.
Heading into the final few weeks of the regular season, we wonder how many games (of their 11 remaining) the Lakers realistically have to win to seemingly qualify for the Play-In Tournament.
How many games can the Los Angeles Lakers win without LeBron James?
Let’s get this out of the way, with 11 games remaining, it seems that the Lakers just have to go .500 or close to that to outlast both the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans. Taking each of those teams’ last 10 games as a point of reference, the Jazz is 5-5 in their last 10. The Pelicans are 3-7.
If the Lakers can get to 40 wins, that likely will be enough for them to clinch a spot in the Play-In Tournament. That may only be enough to get them the 9th or 10th seed but nonetheless, that would work. After that, the Lakers would have to play their way in. But for a team that is playing much better as of late, with a possibly impending return of LeBron, that’s really all you can ask for. A chance.
Looking at their schedule, you can make the argument that the Lakers will be favorites in seven (at least) of the team’s final 11 games. If the Lakers can win all of those games (which is not even a fair assumption), you can argue that they will safely make the Play-In Tournament.
At least for now, the Lakers have to feel good about their chances of making the Play-In Tournament. A lot can change, but for right now it appears that the Lakers will be participating in this year’s postseason. Whether they make the playoffs or not is yet to be determined.