At the start of this NBA All-Star break, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking at a tough road ahead.
They are currently the 13th team in the West with a disappointing 27-32 record.
That means that if the play-in tournament were to start today, the Lakers would miss it entirely.
And if they do want to participate in that tournament, they will need to work hard.
The Los Angeles Lakers need to win 16 of their final 24 games to make the NBA Play-In Tournament! pic.twitter.com/CbBxHhD2xK
— Major Sports Alerts (@sports___alerts) February 16, 2023
The Lakers have 24 more games left in the season and they will realistically need to win 16 of them in order to qualify for the play-in tournament.
That is a tall order for a team that has not won more than five games in a row.
There is a lot of fear among fans that the Lakers won’t be able to do it, because they have suffered from a slew of problems all season long.
At the same time, some people believe that this goal is possible because the team was very busy before the recent NBA trade deadline and has a bunch of new talented stars ready to play hard.
Additionally, both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy again, ready to participate in every game – although their minutes might be limited here and there.
If the Lakers don’t make the play-in tournament, it would be a huge blow to the franchise just a few years after their latest championship.
They will be facing off against some intimidating opponents in the weeks after the All-Star break.
They will jump right back into the schedule with matches against the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, and others.
The schedule isn’t going to go easy on the Lakers so it’ll be time for the team to finally and truly step up and prove itself.
NEXT: NBA Insider Talks Possible Anthony Davis Trade
