50% of the season gone. Lakeres get to the POs? Yes/No

[Otaku]

Short question. Will the Lakers make it to the playoffs?

Place your bets today.


I say no way in hell.

[Ashy Larry]

nope

[midnightpulp]

No.

I might've said they sneak into the 8th seed prior to last night's game, which I thought they might win since Memphis has looked underwhelming lately, but last night's loss, along with Dwight reaggravating his shoulder, was most likely the death blow to their playoff chances.

Now that Dallas is surging somewhat, it's going to be nigh impossible for the Lakers to make any sort of run.

[JamStone]

hell no.

[ElNono]

They won't. Dallas will. ElNono right bout dem Lakers (and Dallas).

[TrainOfThought5]

<---- Devils advocate. although i have no earthly clue why they would win enough games to turn it around.

[Raven]

no and their pick wins the lottery (and goes to phoenix)

[irishock]

lol apart from coaching I don't get how a team like Dallas, with 1 star and a bunch of scrubs, are in the hunt for the playoffs while the Lakers are not.

[Clipper Nation]

lol apart from coaching I don't get how a team like Dallas, with 1 star and a bunch of scrubs, are in the hunt for the playoffs while the Lakers are not.
Chemistry, balance, and depth....

[Riddler]

no and their pick wins the lottery (and goes to phoenix)

:lol if that pick actually won the lottery.

[JingleJangleJingle]

They need to go 28-12 the rest of the way to get 45 wins which is usually the amount of wins the 8th seed needs to get in the West...by early March, i think they will reach 12 loses...so no they are not making the playoffs.

[irishock]

Chemistry, balance, and depth....

Mavs have none of those as well

[Raven]

:lol if that pick actually won the lottery.

i don't really know all the rules about the lottery but if I'm correct the amount of chances to win the lottery is dependant on the losing record (for now it looks like the sixth worst pick) on the years since picking in the lottery and the amount of years since picking #1. if the team actually making the pick doesn't influence this (i think it doesn't), then next year's first rounder would be the first lakers lottery pick since Bynum in 2005 and the first #1 pick since Magic Johnson back in 79. Pretty sick if I got it right...

[Splits]

Better question/poll: will the Lakers lose 50 games?

I can see it happening if they win 1 or less games on this 3 game homestand. They've played a relatively easy schedule thus far and after these home games will have played 5 more home games than roadies. Their 2nd half is pretty brutal by any standards, but the way they're playing it will be like taking a painal.

When's the last time they lost 50+? 1975 :wow

[Rummpd]

Have to go with yes, although I hope I am wrong. They are only 3 losses out and with all this talent until they are 5 out with 20 to go, one cannot bet against even the most dysfunctional all star type team, their bad choice in a coach, and even that terrible owner. The best chance of them missing if the Rockets or Mavs get hot, the Jazz should hang on.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings

[Clipper Nation]

Mavs have none of those as well
Everyone has more of that than the L:lolk:lolrs, tbh...

[timvp]

It's starting to look like .500 ball will make the playoffs in the West this season. To get there, the Lakers have to go 24-16. As bad as they are right now, that's still doable. One seven- or eight-game winning streak is all it'll take to make it happen .... and with all that talent (Dwight in his prime, Kobe in his statistical prime) one would imagine they'll get it together at some point.

[Spur_Fanatic]

They will. The last playoff teams are all pretty terrible.
.500 teams (or close to it) may make it.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

No. I'll admit that's a flip-flop from just a week ago, but I'm convinced this team is locked in for a Charlie Brown laser-guided raincloud kind of a season. Shit's not getting any better. At the start of the year most fans have a list of things they know have to happen for their team to contend (or at least not suck): this guy has to stay healthy, that guy has to step up, this rookie needs to pan out, some role player has to play well enough to open up some trade options. If you went down that list for the Lakers it's all gone wrong so far: Nash got hurt right out of the gate, whatever spring was in Kobe's step earlier in the year has given way to fatigue, Howard still doesn't look healthy, Gasol's head isn't screwed on straight, the bench remains thin at best. And it will get worse. Howard will get traded and show a miraculous improvement and not miss any games in March or April. Nash will get legitimately hurt while Pau will milk an injury (and D'Antoni will respond by shitting on him worse), all culminating in Kobe shooting, shooting, shooting all through the spring.

[midnightpulp]

It's starting to look like .500 ball will make the playoffs in the West this season. To get there, the Lakers have to go 24-16. As bad as they are right now, that's still doable. One seven- or eight-game winning streak is all it'll take to make it happen .... and with all that talent (Dwight in his prime, Kobe in his statistical prime) one would imagine they'll get it together at some point.

But Dwight isn't in his prime, with the back problems and now the shoulder injury.

I also think Kobe's high efficiency run is over, and over the next half of the season, we'll see more 9-25 like games from him than how he was shooting throughout the first 30 games.

They also have no depth.

[ElNono]

There's no fucking way Kobe doesn't quit if the outlook is missing the playoffs... I have the odds of Kobe quitting after the ASG at nearly 75% right now... It'll be some fake injury or a new rape trial that will make him miss games and thus give him an historical out for this shitty season... you heard it here first.

[DMC]

Kobe won't quit. He's going for the scoring title. He won't threaten to leave the Lakers because he's a TOSB™ now and no other team is willing or able to pay him what he thinks he's worth and have him as the face of their franchise, except maybe the Nets. Instead he will throw the team and the coach under the bus and just take it where it can find it.

He's going to increase his shot attempts by about 10 a game.

[whitemamba]

lolz i dont think they make it

[ElNono]

Kobe won't quit. He's going for the scoring title. He won't threaten to leave the Lakers because he's a TOSB™ now and no other team is willing or able to pay him what he thinks he's worth and have him as the face of their franchise, except maybe the Nets. Instead he will throw the team and the coach under the bus and just take it where it can find it.

He's going to increase his shot attempts by about 10 a game.

I don't think he's going to request to be traded... he'll just fake some injury like in 2005 and the narrative moves to "well, when he missed the playoffs he was injured"... as far as throwing everybody under the bus, likely.

[DMC]

I don't think he's going to request to be traded... he'll just fake some injury like in 2005 and the narrative moves to "well, when he missed the playoffs he was injured"... as far as throwing everybody under the bus, likely.

You could be correct, however I think he's too egotistically focused on his numbers to sit it out. He would miss the scoring title. Another good excuse is "well, when he missed the playoffs, it wasn't his fault. He won the scoring title that year". He loves little peripheral trophies.

[Spur_Fanatic]

I don't think he's going to request to be traded... he'll just fake some injury like in 2005 and the narrative moves to "well, when he missed the playoffs he was injured"... as far as throwing everybody under the bus, likely.

Pretty much this.

[ElNono]

You could be correct, however I think he's too egotistically focused on his numbers to sit it out. He would miss the scoring title. Another good excuse is "well, when he missed the playoffs, it wasn't his fault. He won the scoring title that year". He loves little peripheral trophies.

You might be onto something there, tbh

[Calispursfan11]

They haven't fixed it through an entire half a season. I don't think it will be any better the second half. The team wants to self-destruct and there is no glue to hold it together - only ego-driven destruction! Muhahahahaha.

[HarlemHeat37]

If you read LG and the subject of Kobe potentially quitting is discussed, it's as if their entire fanbase has completely erased the memories of Kobe quitting and shitting on the entire franchise in 2007:lol..

[DPG21920]

There is no way a team with this amount of stacked talent won't make the playoffs. Not even taking into consideration the 8th seed in the West this year will likely have the lowest win total in the last 5 years (not counting the lockout year).

[024]

there are two spots still available in the playoffs. currently, utah, portland, rockets, wolves, mavs and lakers are competing for those two spots. i doubt the wolves will get close enough so we can eliminate them.

either utah or rockets will get at least one of the spots. that leaves the mavs and blazers. are the lakers better than those two teams? mavs are still a wild card and blazers are up and down. i'll say the mavs get the last playoff slot since they don't have as many issues as the lakers. dirk can only get better with each passing game and the mavs have already shown they can beat .500 teams.

[dunkman]

No, Gasol and Dwight will never give their best effort while Kobe's on the team. And Kobe isn't good enough at this point of his career to make the playoffs, probably never was good enough, he owes Phil, Shaq and Gasol everything.

[ffadicted]

No matter the evidence, I have to say yes. Too much talent to bet against regardless of chem, and like others have mentioned, looks like 7/8 seed are gonna have bad records this year anyway

[TDMVPDPOY]

wont make it

but wont stop the rapists from posting career highs whether its chuckn bricks, individual stats...i think he should concentrate playin defense to win that dpoy award that alluding him...

[Seventyniner]

It's starting to look like .500 ball will make the playoffs in the West this season. To get there, the Lakers have to go 24-16. As bad as they are right now, that's still doable. One seven- or eight-game winning streak is all it'll take to make it happen .... and with all that talent (Dwight in his prime, Kobe in his statistical prime) one would imagine they'll get it together at some point.

I'm not so sure about that. #8 and #9 are exactly .500 right now, but the chances are better that one of those teams finishes 44-38 or so than both teams going 42-40 or 41-41. The Lakers could go on a 7-game winning streak, but so could the Rockets or Blazers, negating it.

[maverick1948]

Since Jan 1, the Lakers are 2-10. In order to make the playoffs, I think the 8th seed will have 43 or 44 wins. The talent has been there for these 12 games, and they are not winning now. The next 12 games, leading to the ASG, are of the greatest importance to the Lakers. If they do not win 9 or more, I think you can stick a fork in them and call them done.

Utah must win (7th seed)
OKC Loss (1st seed)
Pels must win (hot team with Gordon back)
@PHO must win (bottom feeder)
@ Minn Must win (wolves fighing for 8th seed, too) DET (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=3776) Win (East Conf bottom feeder)
@Brooklyn loss (Hottest team in NBA at 9-1 in last 10)
@Bos Must win for both teams
@Char Win (East bottom feeder)
@Mia Loss (Top EC team)
Pho Must win See above
Clippers Loss (Best team in LA not the Lakers)

That is 1 wins 4 losses with 7 games in must win catagory. Of the 7, a loss to any of them will severely handicap their chances of making the playoffs. Sitting at 17-25, going 8-4 in this 12 games would be very hard to do as 7 of the games are on the road. A team, with no chemistry and no real leadership, has little chance to win games. Kobe has thrown the team and both coaches under the bus this year. D12 is hurting because the Lakers want him to play 36 mins a game right off. Kobe is a cancer, but he is a HOF player.

Without a trade, the Lakers are toast. Trading Pau wont fix them. Trading DH12 will not net the return they would need. It will be for another bad contract and a couple of future players but no real help.

Sorry Laker fans, better join the Clippers bandwagon as they are the hope of the west coast city of Angels(?).

[Mal]

No way they organize this mess and start winning anytime soon.

[DPG21920]

DeadlyDynasty if the Lakers don't make the playoffs, do you owe me double?

[KaiRMD1]

They've actually gotten worse since it was predicted they would sneak in. It would be a miracle if they make the playoffs tbh

[DeadlyDynasty]

nah scrah

[DeadlyDynasty]

You're getting IOUs...they're just as good as money.

[CGD]

Yeah, and they'll be the team no one wants to face to boot. the 7-10 slots look pretty open to me. How awesome would clips-lake show be in the first round btw?

[dunkman]

Kobe and Peace have to stop chucking shots, they would have to involve Gasol and Howard to be successful. The defense its also a concern.

[StrengthAndHonor]

Hard to tell. After yesterdays game, the Lakers absolutely look unstoppable. The completely demolished a Utah team who has their number this season. I really enjoyed that game. Kobe played exceptional minus a few turnovers. Its so funny because Nash ended up playing Fisher's role hitting wide open jumpers and attacking the rim for layups.


but Kobe's just a weird individual, so is that team, no one is really consistent except Earl Clark. Gasol and MWP may very well not show up again for the next few games, and Kobe as a result may start doing everything on his own again.

I was just looking at Portland and Houston's schedule and both have some difficult schedule next month.

Blazers

01/26-Clippers
01/27-@Clippers
01/29- Mavs

02/01 @Jazz
02/02 vs Jazz
02/04 Wolves
02/06 @Mavs
02/08 @ Rockets
02/10 @ Orlando
02/12 @ Miami
02/13 @ Pelicans
02/19 vs Suns
02/22 @ Lakers
02/24 vs Boston
02/27 vs Denver

13 of Portland's 15 games are against Playoff teams. They have several back to backs against tough opponents (Clippers, Jazz) and will play 9 of 6 on the road. This team is pretty bad away as it is. I can see them going 5-10 in this brutal stretch.


Houston Rockets

vs Brooklyn (9-1 in their last 10)
@ Utah
@ Denver
vs Bobcats
vs GSW
@ Miami
vs Portland
@ Sacramento
@ GSW
@ Clippers
vs OKC
@ Brooklyn
@ Washington
vs Milwaukee

Houston I believe is actually a worse road team. they're playing 8 on the road. Their only break is against the Bobcats (who almost beat team last week) and Washington who surprisingly can be good at home (beating Miami and OKC). They'll see plenty of quality teams like Golden State, Miami, Brooklyn and Denver who are now finally hitting their midseason form. Rockets may go 6-8 or 5-9 in this stretch.



Lakers has the most favorable schedule of the three. With the exception of OKC tomorrow, other games are fairly easier than Houston's or Portland.

vs Pelicans
@ Phoenix
@ Minnesota
@ Detroit
@ Brooklyn

At this point if they want to give themselves a chance, they must go 4-1. Absolutely no way around it. If they luck out and beat OKC tomorrow which has an odds of 1:9 of happening, its a 5-1 streak which will put them just 3 games below 500.

Next set of games looks like this.


@ Boston (Equally horrible lately, should be a win for them)
@ Miami (Blowout win for the Heat)
@ Bobcats
vs Phoenix
vs Clippers
vs Boston
vs Portland
@ Dallas
@ Denver
vs Minnesota

15 games. They must finish the month of February winning 10 of those 15 at the very least and this is plausible (Losing against @Miami @ Denver vs Clippers @ Brooklyn vs Minnesota). Do this and they will only be about just 2 games below 500. And when March comes, which I believe is easier for the Lakers.

Get this, the Lakers are not facing teams who have been giving them problems all year long. No Clippers, Spurs, Memphis, Miami, Denver or Utah in March, while Portland and Houston's SAS remains the same. They're only meeting a Top 5 team once and thats OKC. The rest are fairly beatable with the exception of Indiana maybe and a game or two from Atlanta.


The Lakers need a winning month to start the process, February will be their make or break month.

[eric365]

I know it's really early but one of the last game of the regular season is the Lakers against the Spurs

If at that time the Thunders are the 1st seed and the Lakers trying to get the 8th, it would be really funny for the Spurs to rest the big 3 to put the Lakers against the Thunders in the playoffs

[Juggity]

I know it's really early but one of the last game of the regular season is the Lakers against the Spurs

If at that time the Thunders are the 1st seed and the Lakers trying to get the 8th, it would be really funny for the Spurs to rest the big 3 to put the Lakers against the Thunders in the playoffs

It'd be much funnier if the Spurs knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs, tbh.

[StrengthAndHonor]

Pop has been known to rest his players. The way its going OKC will have the first seed locked up.

[eric365]

It'd be much funnier if the Spurs knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs, tbh.

Kobe and Dwight are still a lot to handle in the playoff.
I'd rather have the thunders not have an easy sweep in the 1st round

[ElNono]

Lakers has the most favorable schedule of the three. With the exception of OKC tomorrow, other games are fairly easier than Houston's or Portland.

vs Pelicans
@ Phoenix
@ Minnesota
@ Detroit
@ Brooklyn

At this point if they want to give themselves a chance, they must go 4-1. Absolutely no way around it. If they luck out and beat OKC tomorrow which has an odds of 1:9 of happening, its a 5-1 streak which will put them just 3 games below 500.

Next set of games looks like this.


@ Boston (Equally horrible lately, should be a win for them)
@ Miami (Blowout win for the Heat)
@ Bobcats
vs Phoenix
vs Clippers
vs Boston
vs Portland
@ Dallas
@ Denver
vs Minnesota

15 games. They must finish the month of February winning 10 of those 15 at the very least and this is plausible (Losing against @Miami @ Denver vs Clippers @ Brooklyn vs Minnesota). Do this and they will only be about just 2 games below 500. And when March comes, which I believe is easier for the Lakers.

What you're missing is the Lakeshow is a horrible road team. I mean, they're currently 5-15 on the road, that's even worse than Houston (9-14) and Portland (7-13).

The Lakeshow had a big stretch of home games early, which they didn't really take advantage of, and now they have to go on the road and win without the home-cooking...

I also don't see where you would get any indication that this team can go 10-5 in the next 15 games... they're 4-11 in the last 15, including 0-7 on the road... roster-wise, nothing has really changed. You would expect a small improvement from playing together longer, but you're asking for a major swing...

[Richie]

I think Utah and Houston both finish above .500.

If I were gonna pick anyone to come from behind, I think Dallas might make it ahead of the Lakers

[StrengthAndHonor]

What you're missing is the Lakeshow is a horrible road team. I mean, they're currently 5-15 on the road, that's even worse than Houston (9-14) and Portland (7-13).

The Lakeshow had a big stretch of home games early, which they didn't really take advantage of, and now they have to go on the road and win without the home-cooking...

I also don't see where you would get any indication that this team can go 10-5 in the next 15 games... they're 4-11 in the last 15, including 0-7 on the road... roster-wise, nothing has really changed. You would expect a small improvement from playing together longer, but you're asking for a major swing...

I don't think they'll win 10 out of 15. I personally have them at 7-8 in that stretch because of their inconsistency which I mentioned. The 10-5 record was my best case scenario assuming they finally figured it out which I don't think they have.

[Thebesteva]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fjDS0jKiE

My attitude as a Laker fan lately

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

If they beat OKC tomorrow I think them niggas turn a corner.

[DMC]

There's no fucking way Kobe doesn't quit if the outlook is missing the playoffs... I have the odds of Kobe quitting after the ASG at nearly 75% right now... It'll be some fake injury or a new rape trial that will make him miss games and thus give him an historical out for this shitty season... you heard it here first.

El

[Mao Zedong]

I don't think he's going to request to be traded... he'll just fake some injury like in 2005 and the narrative moves to "well, when he missed the playoffs he was injured"... as far as throwing everybody under the bus, likely.

Nonostradamus! :wow

[ElNono]

We'll see Friday tbh... there's no way that was a 'severe sprain'... if he quits, hmmmmmmmmmm

[irishock]

Mavs are making a run for it right now. Dirk looks back in it

[ElNono]

There's no fucking way Kobe doesn't quit if the outlook is missing the playoffs... I have the odds of Kobe quitting after the ASG at nearly 75% right now... It'll be some fake injury or a new rape trial that will make him miss games and thus give him an historical out for this shitty season... you heard it here first.


:downspin:
Mike Bresnahan ‏@Mike_Bresnahan 1m

Kobe has a bone spur in his left foot and will be examined Friday in Sacramento. Another Lakers injury...

:lmao

[Thread]

Only pussies & assholes do polls.

[Kool Bob Love]

ElNono.:toast

[NRHector]

The poll should be "how many players the lakers will have to finish the season"