The Los Angeles Lakers have a razor-thin margin of error if they hope to make the postseason, but for LeBron James, this upcoming road trip test against three playoff-bound Eastern Conference teams is an opportunity for him and his team to show their mettle.

“We have an opportunity,” said James after coasting to a 123-107 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. “We go into Toronto our next game, we go into Detroit who’s a playoff team, we go into Milwaukee at the end of the trip. All playoff teams, all good teams. Those games will be like playoff games if we want them to be.”

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The Lakers might not have the cards in their favor to make the playoffs, still depending on other teams to lose if they hope to make it past the regular season. But even if these games don't wind up meaning much in terms of overall competition, they could serve as potential experience for this core for next season, when playoff expectations will really be at stake.

Los Angeles is in 11th place with a 31-36 record, 6.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Utah Jazz and trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings before they could even get close to smelling the last spot in a cruel Western Conference.

LeBron James will attack these final games as if his playoff life is on the line, no matter how feint the possibility is in actuality.