The Los Angeles Lakers discover themselves in a precarious place because the NBA common season nears its conclusion, with current struggles threatening to push them again into the Western Convention play-in match.
Sitting at 41-25, the Lakers at the moment maintain the fifth seed within the West, however a current hunch has left them weak as groups under them shut the hole.
Los Angeles has misplaced 4 of its final 5 video games, together with defeats to the Celtics, Nets, Bucks and Nuggets. Their lone victory in that stretch got here in opposition to the Phoenix Suns, offering a much-needed increase amid an in any other case regarding run of type.
A significant component within the struggles has been the absence of LeBron James, who stays sidelined with a groin pressure. In response to ESPN’s Shams Charania, he’s anticipated to overlook at the least one other week. The Lakers have additionally handled accidents to Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, although Hayes made his return within the win over Phoenix.
Reporting for ABC NBA Countdown: LeBron James has his first on-court exercise at present – with ESPN footage – plus a Lakers return timetable replace: pic.twitter.com/xTeiMRblnp
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 16, 2025
Whereas Luka Doncic has achieved his finest to maintain the staff afloat, the Lakers have lacked consistency on each ends with out their famous person chief.
In the meantime, the Golden State Warriors, who occupy sixth place, have surged since buying Jimmy Butler on the commerce deadline and are using a seven-game win streak. Beneath them, the Minnesota Timberwolves have gained eight straight to enhance to 40-29, whereas the Los Angeles Clippers have taken six of their final seven, pulling inside 1.5 video games of the Warriors and simply 4 video games again of the Lakers.
With these groups trending upward and James nonetheless sidelined, Los Angeles is heading within the improper path on the worst attainable time and the highway forward seems daunting.
In response to Tankathon, the Lakers have the sixth-hardest remaining schedule, with matchups in opposition to the Warriors, Bucks, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Thunder (twice) and Rockets (twice) nonetheless on the slate. The Clippers have the second-toughest schedule, however the Warriors rank simply 14th, and the Timberwolves have the third-easiest path to the end line.
If two of the Warriors, Timberwolves or Clippers proceed their sturdy type whereas the Lakers stumble, the standings may shift dramatically. A high-stakes play-in state of affairs — a scenario the Lakers had hoped to keep away from — could quickly turn out to be a actuality.
Matt Evans is a sports activities journalist from the UK, now primarily based in Paris, France. He has lined varied sports activities together with basketball, soccer, boxing, MMA, and motorsports. Over the previous decade, Matt has targeted closely on the NBA and has labored with many established retailers on a wide range of content material
