Lakers playoff odds: What chances do they have to make the postseason?

Following Russell Westbrook’s move to the Clippers, the Lakers are now without a fall-guy and given that LeBron James recently made history, the optics of their present situation are made even worse. Yet, is there a chance they could still make the post season and if so, what is it? Let’s find out.

What are the odds for the Lakers making the playoffs?

Currently on a record of 27-32, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the NBA All-Star break in bad shape. To be clear, at 13th in the Western Conference, LeBron James and Co. are staring at the very real possibility that they will not be seeing the playoffs for yet another year. This, despite the fact that the Lakers star recently broke the all-time scoring record previously held by Lakers legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. With that said, all is not lost as the odds still indicate that they have a chance.

It’s worth mentioning, that although the Lakers have been less than stellar this season, they are in fact just two games behind the 10th and final playoff spot. On the other hand, we’ve got to consider that the from the No. 3 seed to the 13th, there are just six games separating the teams. What that means, is that it’s going to be very tight heading into the home stretch. In terms of who their major targets are, that would be the Blazers, Jazz and Thunder. Needless to say, there’s no time like the present.

What’s working in the Laker’s favor?

As we mentioned before the Lakers offloaded Russell Westbrook, which to be fair is no knock on the point guard, but it’s clear that the relationship between him and the team was not bearing fruit. Aside from Westbrook’s situation, the team also saw the return of D’Angelo Russell at the trade deadline, which in theory should give a boost to the offense. Of course, what is theoretically possible does not always come to pass and as we just established, the Lakers definitely have their work cut out for them if they mean to make the post season. According to PlayoffStatus.com, LA has a 15% chance of making the playoffs. Who would their opponent be if they did? That would be the Denver Nuggets - not good news.

The Prediction

It’s hard to argue with ‘no’ here. Like we said, not only do they have to leapfrog several teams just to even qualify for the play-in tournament, but assuming they can do so, they’d likely have to win on the road to finally clinch a spot in the playoffs. Some will argue, that James has worked his magic before even when not supported by the best, but if we’re honest there’s nothing about the way that the Lakers are playing at the moment that suggests that will be possible this time. Our vote? The Lakers will be watching the post season from the sofa once again.