The Los Angeles Lakers have had a rough week after losing to the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers are now 10th in the Western Conference after spending weeks in ninth, thus making their Play-In Tournament outlook look bleaker.
Los Angeles has the talent to win against any team on any given night, but their maddening inconsistency has cost them numerous games during the 2023-24 season.
The purple and gold have had LeBron James and Anthony Davis healthy for most of the regular season, but the supporting cast and head coach Darvin Ham haven’t been able to figure out a way to string together wins.
Even though the Lakers are one of the few teams that higher-seeded squads don’t want to see in the postseason, their entry into the playoffs is far from guaranteed.
Since the All-Star break, L.A. has struggled to win games against teams they’re directly competing for playoff positioning with, via Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation.
“Lakers are now 0-5 against their direct playoff competitors since the All-Star break,” Lane reported.
Lakers are now 0-5 against their direct playoff competitors since the All-Star break
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) March 17, 2024
That 0-5 record includes losses to the Phoenix Suns and two each against the Kings and Warriors.
Every loss hurts the Lakers, but those five in particular sting because of the Play-In Tournament ramifications.
The only thing working in Los Angeles’ favor is that the Houston Rockets likely aren’t going to catch them which means they’re likely locked into the 10th seed at worst.
It’s not the position that the Lakers want to be in, but they’ve at least got a shot to make the postseason still.
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