As we inch closer and closer to the start of the postseason, we try to predict how many more wins the Los Angeles Lakers need to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Most teams around the league have anywhere between 16-19 games left in the regular season. It's only natural for many of those teams to already be looking ahead to the start of the postseason, which is a little more than a month away. For a handful of teams in the Western Conference, the goal over the next few weeks will be to try to align themselves in a way where they can avoid having to win their way into the playoffs via the Play-In Tournament.
Anything can happen in a one-game sample and it would be in the best interest of postseason-bound teams to avoid having to put themselves in such a situation. One of the teams that fall in that category is the Los Angeles Lakers. After scoring a huge win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night, the Lakers are 36-30 and are just two games out of the sixth seed in the West standings.
How the Los Angeles Lakers have played recently
Over the last month, since February 1, the Lakers are a team that has grown more consistent. Los Angeles is 12-5 since February 1 and has begun to show some real signs of potential. Heading into the final stretch run, the question is, how far can this recent improved play carry the Lakers? First things first, it may be in the best interest of the Lakers to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
With the idea of the Lakers finishing the regular season as a top 6 seed in the West standings, we explore how many wins exactly the team needs to accomplish such a goal.