Most people didn't expect the Los Angeles Lakers to be a playoff team at this point in the season. But Darvin Ham straightened the ship in the second half of the campaign, and Rob Pelinka did an outstanding job at overhauling the roster.
The team has looked much better as of late, up to the point where some analysts believe they're the biggest threat to come out of the Western Conference, regardless of where they're seeded.
Then again, the Lakers still need to get past some very good teams, and dropping a must-win game to the Los Angeles Clippers won't help their chances of avoiding a tougher matchup. For LeBron James, however, it is what it is.
LeBron James Discusses Potential Playoff Seeding
"It is what it is wherever we end up; that’s where we end up,” James said postgame. “It’s been like four, five seasons in one for us. We don’t have the luxury of saying, ‘This is what we need to do; this is where we’re gonna be.’ Just still continue to play good basketball. We got another game on Friday vs. a very good team, and then we end the season on Sunday vs. Utah. We'll see what happens; wherever we fall, we’ll be ready to go."
James Thinks The Lakers Can Win The Title
LeBron rushed his comeback from a foot injury because he thinks the Lakers can go deep into the playoffs. As a matter of fact, he's confident in their ability to shock the world and win the championship:
“We just want to put ourselves in a position to be able to compete for a championship,” LeBron told the media. “It’s a journey, and obviously, we don’t have as much chemistry as a lot of other teams that are trying to compete for a championship or have aspirations to win a championship, but I like what we’ve been building over the last month or so.”
We still don't know whether the Lakers will be the fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth season in the Western Conference. What we know for sure is that they'll be a tough matchup for whoever they face.
