LeBron James set the NBA world off this week after making a blunt comment about comparisons between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there. We’re not. We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That’s why they won a championship,” James said after a convincing defeat against the champs.
According to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, James was described as “in a mood” and “grumpy” after the Tuesday night loss.
Could he have a change of heart with a change of mood? Sure. But McMahon doesn’t seem to be buying it. The NBA insider claimed that James’ statement was a fact. The Lakers are good—but not championship good.
“The Lakers got bounced in the first round last year and probably are getting bounced in the first round this year. They’re not close to a championship team. Sweet—10 games of improved defense—but they’re a bad defensive team.”
You could certainly consider a first-round exit for the Luka-LeBron Lakers a massive failure this season.
Lakers’ Playoff Chances
It would be a stunner to see the Lakers fall out of the playoff picture. They are going to enter the All-Star break as a top-six team in the Western Conference, but they aren’t too far out of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The tournament doesn’t guarantee a miss, but it definitely doesn’t guarantee a ticket to the postseason either. The Lakers need to show a lot of improvement in the coming months.
According to Basketball Reference’s playoff probability report, the Lakers have a 79 percent chance of cracking the playoffs this season. That’s the seventh-best in the West.
If the season ended at the break, the Lakers would draw a first-round series against the Denver Nuggets. In one meeting this year, the Lakers defeated the Nuggets, who were missing Nikola Jokic. Denver holds a 35-20 record and is widely viewed as a championship contender in the Western Conference.
At the end of the day, predictions and probabilities are just a guess. The Lakers haven’t exceeded expectations so far, but there is plenty of basketball left to be played.
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