SUMMARY
- LeBron and the Lakers currently hold the 9th position in the West.
- The Lakers have a lack of three point shooting and their stars are injury prone.
Questions on whether LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will be able to qualify for the NBA playoffs continue to be a subject of discussion among fans. As the majority of the basketball community should be aware, King James and his squad managed to make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season.
As a result, the team has set quite high standards and expectations for themselves heading this season. However, the Lakers haven’t been doing too well so far and currently hold the 9th position in the West. Although it is still possible for them to turn things around in the final stretch of the season, here are 3 reasons why the Lakers might miss the NBA playoffs this time.
LeBron James and the Lakers will have to go through two play-in games
The standard playoff format over the years involved the teams with the top 8 records from both conferences. However, the league has decided to include a play-in tournament feature, which means the first 6 spots are locked in while the 7th and 8th seeds face off for the 7th spot. Moreover, the winner of an elimination game between the 9th and 10th seeds faces off against the loser for the 7th spot in order to get the 8th and final spot.
The Lakers do not have a consistent three-point shooter
This might just be the biggest reason that the Lakers have been struggling all season long. While D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves have established themselves as fairly good three-point shooters, they have not displayed much consistency in long-distance shooting.
Not surrounding LeBron and Anthony Davis with consistent and reliable three-point shooters will ensure that the Lakers end up losing games against high-scoring teams. While the team has improved defensively in recent times, they are also lacking in that category.AD and LeBron have a long injury history
Although the Lakers made a few changes and upgrades to their roster this season, there is no denying that LeBron James and Anthony Davis continue to be the pillars of the franchise. However, LeBron is currently in Year 21 and has been accumulating more injuries in recent times. While AD has remained relatively healthy this season, fans can easily recall his injury-prone career over the past few seasons.
In the event that even one of these two stars ends up sustaining a serious injury, the Lakers’ chances of making it to the NBA playoffs drop drastically. Despite the fact that the team has enough talent and experience to establish themselves as legitimate contenders, all of these reasons can prevent them from qualifying for the postseason.