2. Make the play-in tournament
Going into the 2021-2022 season, the Lakers had NBA Championship aspirations and expectations. Those aspirations and expectations turned out to be much too lofty. Heading into the 2022-2023 season, there were fewer NBA championship expectations but it was still anticipated that the team would return to the playoffs.
LeBron does not miss the playoffs 2 times in a row, and Patrick Beverley wins everywhere he goes, right? We might have to re-evaluate those hypotheses. If the season ended today, the Lakers would find themselves 3 games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the final Western Conference play-in seed.
While the team also sits just 5 games behind the coveted 6th seed in the West, sneaking into the playoffs without going through the play-in tournament would be a pipe dream.
While the Oklahoma City Thunder (with all due respect to cold-blooded killer SGA) are not necessarily a team to be too concerned with in the play-in race, teams like Utah, Dallas, Portland, aforementioned Minnesota, and reigning champion Golden State (currently not even in the play-in based on today’s standings) are not going to make it easy for the Lakers to push through.
The team will have its work cut out, but rallying together to AT LEAST qualify for the Western Conference play-in tournament would be an accomplishment as we look ahead to the New Year.