NBA Report Cards: Celtics pass with flying colors; Warriors lack an identity

Los Angeles Lakers

Regular season grade: C-

After making a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals last season, the belief heading into this year was that the Los Angeles Lakers would continue to be a threat to make some noise in the conference. However, after another slow start to the year, and continued inconsistency through much of the season, the Lakers once again find themselves in an uneviable position heading into the NBA Playoffs. The Lakers will have to win their way into the official playoff field via the Play-In Tournament.

Even if they're able to do that, they'll have to play the No. 1 or 2 seed in a first-round series. In short, all odds are stacked against the Lakers from making another deep playoff run. Whether or not they're able to defy those odds remains to be seen. The bottom line is that, at least during the regular season, the Lakers once again left much to be desired.

The Lakers are that student that has potential but, for one reason or another, doesn't apply himself enough to see consistent enough results.