The Los Angeles Lakers have been on the receiving end of a ton of criticism of late and you can't say that it has not been warranted. The Lakers have struggled mightily throughout the season and at this point, there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

For his part, however, Russell Westbrook is keeping a positive mindset throughout all this. When asked about the Lakers' current standing — 24-27 and ninth in the Western Conference — the former league MVP responded with a straightforward answer:

“You get in the playoffs it's 0-0,” Westbrook said, via Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation.

Russ has never been short on confidence and this is exactly the type of attitude LeBron James is going to approve of. LeBron himself knows that barring a miraculous turnaround in the second half of the season, this Lakers group isn't going to be finishing anywhere near the top spot in the West and that right now, all they can hope for is to make it to the playoffs.

Westbrook said it perfectly. So long as the Lakers make it to the postseason, they should get an equal shot at winning the title. The main advantage of this team is that they have a wealth of experience under their belt, and surely, this is going to be a major factor come the playoffs. Oh, and they have LeBron, too, so there's that.