This should come as no surprise but the Los Angeles Lakers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention
Coming into the season this Lakers team was shrouded by a series of questions.
Would this be Kobe Bryant‘s last year in the NBA? Could Julius Randle bounce back from injury and have strong sophomore season? Would D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson be able to coexist in the backcourt?
With all of these questions now answered, the final question of fans’ minds remained: would the Purple and Gold be able to spite ESPN’s 27 win prediction and against all odds somehow sneak into the NBA playoffs?
Nearly five months and 14 wins later, the sad reality is no, at least for their playoff aspirations.
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More over, despite their improved play as of late, the Lakers would have to win 14 of their next 17 contests in order to best ESPN’s prediction.
Sadly, even if this team were the Golden State Warriors, with games against the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder, that seems less than doubtful.
Regardless, Lakers fans can hang their hats on the fact that, even though it took him nearly five whole months and just about 60 games to adjust, Byron Scott has finally given the reigns to the young Lakers and they are actually thriving.
Ironically, at this point, the Lakers would be better off losing their remaining games in order to better position themselves to secure their top three protected draft pick in the upcoming draft.
Next: Jordan Clarkson Dubs Himself and Russell 'The Swag Bros'
With two contests against the Phoenix Suns in the coming weeks, the team right above LA in the standings, this becomes an even more pressing issue, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.