The Los Angeles Lakers have officially been eliminated from the postseason with Monday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons.
The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. With the loss, the Lakers have officially been eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
The shorthanded Lakers gave it everything they had, but they ran out of gas towards the end. Los Angeles went into halftime leading by two points but was outscored by eight in the second half.
Los Angeles is battling a number of injuries right now. Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart have been out for almost a month each. As a result, Luke Walton has a very short bench to work with. Every starter played at least 32 minutes against the Pistons. Only two players off the bench played double-digit minutes.
Lonzo Ball led the way with 43 minutes played. Ingram and Hart are two of the other primary ball handlers on the team, so Ball is being leaned upon heavily. Kyle Kuzma also surpassed 40 minutes played, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was close with 38.
Ball finished the game with 15 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. It was the first game he made at least half of his shot attempts since March 13th. It was the first time he broke even 40 percent since March 9th.
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Ball was one of three players to record a double-double against the Pistons. Julius Randle continued his hot streak, scoring 23 points with 11 rebounds. Kuzma also double-doubled with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Brook Lopez played well also, scoring 14 points with nine assists, three rebounds and five blocks.
Despite those efforts, the Lakers were unable to defeat the Pistons. Detroit kept their slim playoff hopes alive with the victory, while the Lakers’ had their hopes finally put to bed.
This will be the fifth consecutive season that the Lakers fail to qualify for the postseason. However, this season should not be looked at as a failure.
The chances that the Lakers had to make the postseason were slim to none. Los Angeles was always a long shot to qualify, but that does not mean this season was not a success for the Lakers. Based on where they have been the last few seasons, this season should be looked at as a success.
The 32 victories this season are the most for Los Angeles since the 2012-13 season when the Lakers won 45 games. That was also the last time that the Lakers qualified for the playoffs.
The Lakers are on the right path to getting things back on track. They have an excellent core of young players with a real chance to add superstar level talent in free agency this summer.
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It would not be a surprise if the Lakers are qualifying for a postseason spot at this time next year instead of being eliminated from one.