94 replies to this topic

[Nego]

on a realistic note we would have to win about 70% of our games left and we can barely stay at .500 sorry but the we all got to face the truth our chances of making the playoffs are very very slim.

[virgil]

No rings this year.

Howard and Pau have checked out.
Dantoni can not handle these super egos

[LakeShow805]

No rings this year.

Howard and Pau have checked out.
Dantoni can not handle these super egos

how has Howard checked out?

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

No rings this year.

Howard and Pau have checked out.
Dantoni can not handle these super egos

Dwight hasn't checked out. The man is nowhere near 100 percent and still putting up 17/12.

[DanishLakerFan]

I think it's possible, but a lot of things have got to go our way - we sure as hell wont make the playoffs when teams like Portland and Utah get Ws agains Miami.

Right now it's a 5-team race
Houston 21-17
Portland 20-17
Utah 22-19
Minny 16-20
Lakers 16-21
We dont need to get 45 or 50 Ws. All we need is to beat the other teams and at this point we have four more losses than Houston and Portland. If we manage to put together a few win-streaks and some of the other teams start to fall a little bit, it's possible.
Today (Jan 15th) we play the Bucks and Portland play @Denver and Clippers @Houston. With a bit of luck we win and both lose.

One point though:
Would Clips, OKC and Spurs throw a game or two to avoid meeting us in the first round?

[JGuez]

It's possible but I would not put money on it.

Hey, I'm sitting here hoping it turns around though.

[UKUGA]

I bet Miami snaps out of its funk on Thursday, and everyone will be laughing at LA.


Also, realize this - no other team wants LAL in the play-offs. This will give teams even extra motivation when they play us (and perhaps slightly less when they play the 7 - 10 teams in the West.

I'm still waiting to see if the refs start bailing us out.

[UKUGA]

We did what we needed/were supposed to do.

Now, do we beat Miami and start a real buzz?

Do we play a tough game against Miami, still lose, but keep hope afloat?

Do we get blown out by Miami and bring all the haters and doubters to the surface to re-affirm view that we are going to miss the play-offs.

Or, do we have a redux of so many other games (LAC, OKC, SAS, etc.) where we are getting smoked, only to have Kobe bring us back in the 4Q, only to fall short?


We need to set the tone early, like we have the last two games. Yes, our bench still stinks and it sets us back, but if we can come out and get a lead as opposed to falling down by 8-10 points, it will do wonders for our game management throughout.

This is our first next chance to really start to turn the corner. If we lose Thursday (likely), then we are looking at probably losing 2/3 and maybe 3/4, and as many as 5/6.

These last two games can't simply be "beating the teams we are supposed to beat."

They have to be solid steps toward turning this around.

The next six:

Miami
@TOR
@ Chicago
@ Memphis
Utah
OKC

Not pretty, but also a chance to make a statement.

[noknife]

The Lakers really dug a hole by not feasting on their easy early season, they have had a bunch of tough games recently and some coming up. By the end of this month we will have a pretty clear sign of what is going to happen. Miami, Chi, OKC, Memphis are all tough games, if they can win 2 of those, I think they can make a run to the playoffs. We shall see.

[MDI]

We have a relatively easy schedule coming up, God help us go on a big run lol

vs New Orleans
@ Phoenix
@ Minnesota
@ Detroit
@ Brooklyn
@ Boston
@ Charlotte
@ Miami
vs Phoenix
vs LAC
vs Boston
vs Portland
@ Dallas
@ Denver
vs Minnesota

[Ham]

Boston should be easy now that rondo is gone. Anyone in the west are must wins

[reryo]

We have a relatively easy schedule coming up, God help us go on a big run lol

vs New Orleans
@ Phoenix
@ Minnesota
@ Detroit
@ Brooklyn
@ Boston
@ Charlotte
@ Miami
vs Phoenix
vs LAC
vs Boston
vs Portland
@ Dallas
@ Denver
vs Minnesota

Dayum look at all those trap games.

[BasketballIQ]

I gotta feeling Boston will play better in the second half.

No more waiting for Rondo to bail them out.

Paul and KG will step up a bit. Terry will turn his seaosn around. Avery Bradley will get better as the year progresses.


But I think 8 of the next ten is very doable.

The last two games and even the start of Memphis, I thought we start doing some positive things with Steve playing off ball and Pau got his mojo back.


If Pau is now a Star, which I contend he is. Kobe and Dwight playing elite overall ball and Nash as a Star. With Metta, Earl, Meeks and Jamison as NBA rotation level players, we are built to win at a high clip.

Everyone is now healthy and has had about 15 or so games with our best 4 players all on the court and D'Antoni has made some adjustments.

I'm glad he plays Jamison and Meeks, now and it's time for this team to go on a nice run, even the 2011 Lakers, who were truly a broken team, physically and mentally, had the 17-1 run. It's this team's turn to do something positive.

[netlord]

Even if we start playing consistently and start winning games what will happen when we have to start making adjustments, I just can't see how D'Antoni will manage. Let's see if Pau can keep up on the offensive side. And hopefully Dwight can play with that shoulder of his.

[Admiral General Aladeen]

Even if we start playing consistently and start winning games what will happen when we have to start making adjustments, I just can't see how D'Antoni will manage. Let's see if Pau can keep up on the offensive side. And hopefully Dwight can play with that shoulder of his.

Pau and Dwight cannot play together in my opinion. When Dwight comes in, Pau struggles. Both fail to work together offensively. Sure we have seen some nice plays between the two, but consistently, it has not been working. The same happened with Bynum. We always closed out games with Pau and Odom, not Pau and Bynum.

[netlord]

Pau and Dwight cannot play together in my opinion. When Dwight comes in, Pau struggles. Both fail to work together offensively. Sure we have seen some nice plays between the two, but consistently, it has not been working. The same happened with Bynum. We always closed out games with Pau and Odom, not Pau and Bynum.

No doubt, I meant when Dwight returns, they obviously cannot play together. Even when they are not playing together I just doubt D'Antoni's capacity to make adjustments.

[Majesty]

The reason Pau and Dwight can't play together is because of Pau's unwillingness to set up for a double post. That's why he should come off the bench at his natural position. And if he played with the intensity he's played with(except phoenix) lately, off the bench it gives us the best starter backup center combo in the nba. And then they get their few minutes together too for brief times for their high low plays etc. It was a great balance we were getting between their playing times before Dwight got hurt.

[BasketballIQ]

Houston's next 8 are brutal, . We need to get to .500 while they fall to below that possibly during this stretch

warriors,
at heat
blazers
@ kings,
at warriors
at clips ,
okc ,
at nets

[UKUGA]

After Sunday, the schedule softens considerably the remainder of the year.

We need to win tonight in Charlotte and show that we can still play even without Pau. If we lose tonight, we will also lose at Miami and head home at 23-29. Doesn't work.


Look at the schedule. We could go 22-10 the rest of the way, putting us at 45 wins. I think 20-12 is somewhat more likely, but again, it comes back to whether or not we can get back to playing solid team ball without Pau on the court. 24-8 is probably absolute tops for this team, but that is an extreme stretch considering that Dwight is likely to still have performances like last night off and on for the rest of the season.

[Nak]

The Lakers are not making the playoffs unless they go on a huge run, something like a 10-game winning streak and I think it won't happen.