Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons they will make the playoffs this year

3. The Lakers have played well when (almost) at full strength

It’s been rare to see the purple and gold play a game this season with everyone on the roster healthy and available to play. However, they have had quite a few games where almost everyone was available, and they did quite well in those games.

After a 4-6 start, they signed 18-year vet and world champion Tyson Chandler to shore up what had been a huge weakness – the backup center spot. They took off after that, winning 16 of their next 24 games until Lebron’s injury.

I know those of you who are more cynical than saying to yourselves, “yeah, but the Lakers had an easy schedule during that stretch.” That’s true, but let’s not forget that throughout the season, they’ve proven that they can beat elite or near-elite teams and replicate that effort again and again.

Very early in the season, they beat Denver, who is in second place at 39-18 right now, after trailing by seven points with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter. They beat Portland, who is 34-23, twice, including once in Portland, a place where they almost never win dating back to the beginning of the Kobe Bryant era more than 20 years ago.

Los Angeles beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City by 10 points in January without LeBron or Rondo, and we all remember their recent ravishing win at the Boston Garden on Rondo’s dramatic game-winner.

And of course, there was their Christmas Day beatdown of the three-time world champion Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers’ baseline may only be that of a 50-win team, but on any given night they can beat anyone in the league, mostly because they have arguably the best player in the game.