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By losing three games in a row and seven of their last 10 in recent days, the Los Angeles Lakers have slipped in the standings. They held second place in the Western Conference not too long ago, but now, they're in fourth place with a 43-28 record, which is the same record the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies have. The Lakers also now have only a two-game cushion on the sixth-place Golden State Warriors.
After their stunning 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, head coach JJ Redick said they're aiming to finish with at least the sixth seed in the West.
Via ESPN:
On the surface, this may seem like a reasonable goal. But is it a sufficient one?
Setting such a low bar or minimum could give this team and its players a built-in excuse to mail it in and lose to inferior teams such as the Bulls, or the Orlando Magic, the team L.A. lost to by 12 points on Monday. Subconsciously, they may feel as if their goal is already a lock, and therefore they may not play hard or start to gear up for the playoffs as the calendar turns over to April.
Last season, the team lost a large number of games to inferior teams, and this season, it has done well against teams with winning records, but not as well as it should be doing against teams it should be beating. One has to wonder if last season the Lakers were content with reaching the play-in tournament and thought it could take it easy all year, then turn it on in April.
Los Angeles is currently just one game behind the third-place Denver Nuggets, a team it will likely earn the tiebreaker over. It is also just 2.5 games behind the second-place Houston Rockets, a team it will play twice at home over the next few weeks.
That means getting the second seed could still be realistic, which means the team should be aiming for the second seed if it is truly serious about reaching the NBA Finals. Otherwise, it could start the playoffs on the road against a feisty Memphis or Denver team and possibly exit in that round.
The Lakers are fully healthy now. They have no excuses to take it easy or take plays, quarters or games off. It is time for them to get into playoff mode and reach for the stars.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Are the Lakers setting the bar high enough for the rest of the season?
Continue reading...
After their stunning 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, head coach JJ Redick said they're aiming to finish with at least the sixth seed in the West.
Via ESPN:
On the surface, this may seem like a reasonable goal. But is it a sufficient one?
Setting such a low bar or minimum could give this team and its players a built-in excuse to mail it in and lose to inferior teams such as the Bulls, or the Orlando Magic, the team L.A. lost to by 12 points on Monday. Subconsciously, they may feel as if their goal is already a lock, and therefore they may not play hard or start to gear up for the playoffs as the calendar turns over to April.
Last season, the team lost a large number of games to inferior teams, and this season, it has done well against teams with winning records, but not as well as it should be doing against teams it should be beating. One has to wonder if last season the Lakers were content with reaching the play-in tournament and thought it could take it easy all year, then turn it on in April.
Los Angeles is currently just one game behind the third-place Denver Nuggets, a team it will likely earn the tiebreaker over. It is also just 2.5 games behind the second-place Houston Rockets, a team it will play twice at home over the next few weeks.
That means getting the second seed could still be realistic, which means the team should be aiming for the second seed if it is truly serious about reaching the NBA Finals. Otherwise, it could start the playoffs on the road against a feisty Memphis or Denver team and possibly exit in that round.
The Lakers are fully healthy now. They have no excuses to take it easy or take plays, quarters or games off. It is time for them to get into playoff mode and reach for the stars.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Are the Lakers setting the bar high enough for the rest of the season?
Continue reading...
