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The Los Angeles Lakers are the disappointment of the season. Many expected them to seriously contend for the title, but it has not turned out that way. The Lakers are a full 25 games back from the first seed, where some saw them before the season. They are currently 29-39 and just ninth in the Western Conference.
Still, due to the new format of the postseason, they will be able to contend for a playoff spot. While they are looking very poor right now, they could still do something in the postseason. Here are three reasons LeBron James and the Lakers can still make noise in the West.
Why the Lakers aren't dead yet
LeBron James is on another level
One positive of this season is the continued defiance of LeBron James to surrender to Father Time. Everyone is aware that Father Time is the only unbeatable force in all of sports, but what James is doing has us seriously questioning whether he will ever slow down, especially as he deals with a balky knee.
As we speak, LeBron James is leading the entire league in scoring with 29.7 points per game. He is also averaging 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists while shooting 52.3% from the field and 36.2% from behind the arc. While this Lakers season seems rough, it would be historically bad without The King putting up numbers as he is.
In fact, LeBron James can be the best hope the Lakers have of potentially making any moves when the postseason hits. When it comes to the regular season, we have routinely seen that when a team has a historically good player, their seeding does not always have to be the best one.
With James there, the Lakers can hope to be that surprise in the playoffs, even from the eighth, which is their best potential position given the current circumstance. He will have more time to rest between games, and he will be able to play multiple games versus the same opponent, dissecting their holes while motivating and leading his team to play out of their skin. It is not much of hope, but with James there, one can never fully be sure.
Return of Anthony Davis
The Lakers really have two major parallel issues. Anthony Davis has not been able to stay healthy, while the Russell Westbrook trade has not worked out at all. Out of the 68 games played up until now, Davis featured in only 37 and is set to miss a few more. On the other hand, Russell Westbrook is at 67 out of 68 games played with an abysmal +/- of -3.4 when on the court and a net +/- of 2.7, according to Basketball Reference. However, the return of AD at full strength should be a major boost for the Lakers.
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It is true that The Brow melded into mediocrity and, sometimes, the awfulness of the Lakers in general. Still, he is a four-time All-NBA, eight-time All-Star superstar who, if healthy, can impact this team in myriad ways. He can be the second star the Lakers sorely need so that LeBron James does not run out of gas.
Additionally, he can positively impact the diabolically bad Lakers offense, which is ranked 24th in the entire league. Again, this is all relying on the fact that he can stay healthy when he returns, but Davis can be that guy who gives the Lakers a chance in absolutely every playoff or play-in matchup, together with James. Paired up with a Kendrick Nunn return, whenever that is, it should spell better news for the Lakers.
Drop of title expectations
This is a tough one to take for most Lakers fans, but as the season has gone on, many of them accepted that this team is not winning a title. More pessimistic ones would likely go as far to say that the LeBron James era of Lakers basketball will breed just one title, but that remains to be seen. It seems like, due to the almost depressing nature of the team, the expectations and the pressure of a title hunt slowly evaporated as the record fell deep under .500. That could actually be a very good thing for James and the Lakers.
Firstly, it is great motivation to go out there and defy the painfully low expectations. Basketball analysts are likely counting out the Lakers as a serious threat, and we are well aware of how personally LeBron James takes being counted out.
Secondly, a lack of pressure might cause the Lakers players, other than The King, to turn off the outside noise and just play to the best of their abilities. That is tough for someone like Westbrook, who is constantly and personally targeted, but other guys can take a moment, relax, and just try to do their best. Of course, it will not completely turn them around, but it will turn some net negatives into possible positives on the court.
Most importantly, as hinted above, LeBron James absolutely loves being counted out. Usually, he strolls through the regular season, but due to the criticism of his team, he is already taking his game to the next level and is doing his best to carry them. That means that he is playing more despite a sore knee, that part is true, but it also means that Playoff LeBron, the one each and every team in the league fears, is here in March and should enter the play-in already locked and loaded.
They might just grab the eighth seed if they win two games in the play-in, but with Davis back and LeBron James locked in, the Lakers are definitely not a normal eighth seed and could still make a ton of noise in the volatile Western Conference.
