NBA
A touch of absolute Lakers fiasco, all scenarios for the play-in tournament
The Lakers are facing the biggest failure in their history and one of the biggest failures of all time in the NBA. The remaining games, the Spurs, the 4/4 that even that will not be enough to enter the play-in tournament and window of hope.
Two Spurs wins and one Pelicans win. The Lakers are now so close to the fiasco of the year and perhaps the biggest fiasco of all time in NBA history.
The home loss to the Nuggets and the Spurs’ win over the Blazers put another nail in the LA team’s coffin. The Lakers are 11th with a 31-47 record and the Spurs are 10th with a 33-45 record. The 9th Pelicans have a record of 34-44 and only if they prove suicidal will they be eliminated from the Play-In tournament. Worse still, LA is lagging behind in a possible draw with both. For the “Lake People” the “Lake People” are now having an extremely difficult time.
The 4/4 that doesn’t reach the window of hope
The three contenders (Pelicans, Spurs, Lakers) for the last two places (9th and 10th) leading to the play-in tournament have 4 games each.
The easiest program in these remaining games is for the Pelicans – who only need a win to “secure” their place in the play-in tournament as they face two teams already eliminated from the playoffs.
Immediately following are the Lakers (one team outside the playoffs and three in the top 6) and lastly the Spurs, who have 4 games against teams in the West’s top 7.
Detailed Scenarios:
New Orleans Pelicans (34-44)
The program:
Sacramento Kings (away)
Portland Trail Blazers (home)
Memphis Grizzlies (away)
Golden State Warriors (Home)
What they need to qualify for the play-in tournament: One win in four games
San Antonio Spurs (33-45)
The program:
Denver Nuggets (away)
Minnesota Timberwolves (away)
Golden State Warriors (Home)
Dallas Mavericks (away)
What they need to qualify for the play-in tournament:
1st scenario: Achieve two wins in four games
2nd scenario: The Lakers make at least two losses
3rd scenario: If the Lakers have three wins, the Spurs need a win.
4th scenario: If the Lakers have four wins, the Spurs need two wins
Los Angeles Lakers (31-47)
The program:
Phoenix Suns (gone)
Golden State Warriors (away)
Oklahoma City Thunder (Home)
Denver Nuggets (away)
What they need to qualify for the play-in tournament:
1st scenario: Let the pelicans do 0/4 and yourself the 4/4
2nd scenario: Get at least 3 wins and get the Spurs 0/4
3rd scenario: To make 4/4 in remaining games and equalize San Antonio with a win.
They don’t need a miracle, but… maybe they will
The Lakers don’t need a miracle to qualify. If you look at the Spurs’ schedule, you can see that it’s actually possible for San Antonio to go 0/4 in their recent games, giving the Lakers a window of hope. At the same time, LA should of course have at least three wins in this case. But three of his opponents are teams in the top 6 in the west (Warriors – 1st, Warriors – 3rd and Nuggets – 5th).
Given that their schedule is difficult, that they have 6 straight losses, LeBron James is extremely doubtful about the fight with the Suns and Davis is not at 100%, one understands the reasons for this pessimism.
The situation was already marginal for the Lakers. Now they have two losses of their own – or two Spurs wins and one for the Pelicans – far from absolute fiasco. A season that began with title dreams — though not everyone thought so — LA is licking its wounds. The Lakers have a week to salvage … whatever can be salvaged from this season in their bid to simply enter the Play-In tournament. Not exactly what they expected.
Source: sport 24
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.