Assuming OKC beats LA on Tuesday, if the Jazz can beat the Cavs on Wednesday it would put LA at 30-31, and Utah at 33-28.
Now, most fans Laker fans are conceding that Houston will hang on to a playoff spot but Utah will drop out. Well, Utah has already clinched the tiebreak against LA (2-1, no 4th game this year), so from then to the end of the season the Lakers would have to gain FOUR games on Utah in the loss column in what is a 21 game span for both teams. So even assuming the Lakers maintain their recent momentum and continue to play .700 ball or so (assume they go 15-6 over the last 21, despite having 11 road games in that stretch, giving them a record of 45-37), all Utah would have to do over their final 21 games is to go 12-9, and they'd be ahead of LA in the standings.
Even in the Lakers maintain their current hot pace for the duration of the season, Utah, Houston, and Golden State have to be marginally better than .500 the rest of the way to secure a playoff spot. That said, with games remaining against Chicago, Indiana, Memphis, San Antonio, Atlanta, and the Clippers, I'm not sure the Lakers will have a record quite that strong the rest of the way. Kobe is currently putting the team on his back and willing them to wins, but thats not exactly a sustainable way to win games. It took a monster effort from him to beat Atlanta by 1 at home, as well as late game heroics to hold off Dallas and Portland. I do think the Lakers are playing better, but not as good as their record in this stretch of games would make you think.
Now if some funny business happens in the OKC game, Utah-Cleveland game, it would up my math and the credibility of the entire post
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