The remaining 23 games

[stan francisco]

Current W-L record: 27-32
Games left: 23

ESPN predicted that a 17-6 record is what’s needed to land LAL a sixth spot in the west. Apparently, that’s our goal.

Based on the lack of defensive execution so far under Ham, I doubt it but the optimist says it’s possible given the recent trades etc.

Games left:
GSW, DAL, MEM, OKC, MIN, GSW, MEM, TOR, NYK, NOL, HOU, DAL, ORL, PHO, OKC, CHI, CHI, MIN, HOU, UTA, LAC, PHO, UTA.

LBJ calls it his most important stretch of reg season games in his career. I hope D Lo is ready to play defense.

I’d love 17-6 to end the season. Think we’ll pull it off?

[ROballer]

Next week is crucial, we start with tough games right out of the gate. But the schedule after that gets ridiculously easy, especially considering that some of the good teams we play down the stretch will probably have a secured playoff spot and load manage.

Only downfall is that we have 5 back to backs left which is pretty ridiculous. But if Lebron starts putting his money where his mouth is and actually starts being available consistently..

I will go on a limb here. Assuming we win 3 out of the first 4(at home vs GSW without Curry, away at Dallas, Memphis and OKC) and Lebron/Davis don't miss more than 2 games each for the rest of the season.

18-5 record. I'm feeling it.

[Pythagoras]

Next week is crucial, we start with tough games right out of the gate. But the schedule after that gets ridiculously easy, especially considering that some of the good teams we play down the stretch will probably have a secured playoff spot and load manage.

Only downfall is that we have 5 back to backs left which is pretty ridiculous. But if Lebron starts putting his money where his mouth is and actually starts being available consistently..

I will go on a limb here. Assuming we win 3 out of the first 4(at home vs GSW without Curry, away at Dallas, Memphis and OKC) and Lebron/Davis don't miss more than 2 games each for the rest of the season.

18-5 record. I'm feeling it.

Same.

If not for the Trailblazers having an obviously scorching hot 3 point shooting night, we’re riding a 3 game winning streak right now.

I’m feeling this team’s upgraded depth, versatility, and shooting.

[bb22]

I mean they have the talent, but it would be a historic end to the season for a team to go from 13th to 6th post all-star break. Yes the standings are pretty tight, but every team is going to be turning it up.

Id love to see a huge run, but think 9th is more of a realistic hope. Even for that to happen, we would have to see Minnesota or NO fall out and the lakers leapfrog solid teams like OKC and maybe GS.

[stan francisco]

It’ll be an interesting run to watch. If we start a streak chances are we catch momentum and can ride a wave. I just hope the wave isn’t out of gas when the post season starts.

The more I think of it, I’m guessing a 15-8 stretch is max. Hoping for a play-in spot.

[tamaraw08]

Next week is crucial, we start with tough games right out of the gate. But the schedule after that gets ridiculously easy, especially considering that some of the good teams we play down the stretch will probably have a secured playoff spot and load manage.

Only downfall is that we have 5 back to backs left which is pretty ridiculous. But if Lebron starts putting his money where his mouth is and actually starts being available consistently..

I will go on a limb here. Assuming we win 3 out of the first 4(at home vs GSW without Curry, away at Dallas, Memphis and OKC) and Lebron/Davis don't miss more than 2 games each for the rest of the season.

18-5 record. I'm feeling it.

Either you or ESPN made a mistake about their back to backs bec per their site, there's only 3 more back to back games, starting Feb 28-Mar 1st, Mar 14-15 then Apr 4-5 (at home vs Clips).
A lot needs to happen esp if AD and Lebron would not miss more than 3-4 games combined, Beasley and D'Lo play good enough defense and hit 39% from 3, better executions and minimize turnovers and no more 3pt shots from bad perimeter shooters like Bamba and Rui.

[ROballer]

Next week is crucial, we start with tough games right out of the gate. But the schedule after that gets ridiculously easy, especially considering that some of the good teams we play down the stretch will probably have a secured playoff spot and load manage.

Only downfall is that we have 5 back to backs left which is pretty ridiculous. But if Lebron starts putting his money where his mouth is and actually starts being available consistently..

I will go on a limb here. Assuming we win 3 out of the first 4(at home vs GSW without Curry, away at Dallas, Memphis and OKC) and Lebron/Davis don't miss more than 2 games each for the rest of the season.

18-5 record. I'm feeling it.

Either you or ESPN made a mistake about their back to backs bec per their site, there's only 3 more back to back games, starting Feb 28-Mar 1st, Mar 14-15 then Apr 4-5 (at home vs Clips).
A lot needs to happen esp if AD and Lebron would not miss more than 3-4 games combined, Beasley and D'Lo play good enough defense and hit 39% from 3, better executions and minimize turnovers and no more 3pt shots from bad perimeter shooters like Bamba and Rui.

Mar 1/2, Mar 4/5, Mar 15/16, Mar 25/26, Apr 5/6, Apr 8/9.

I was wrong, we actually have 6 back to back left. And yes, I used ESPN.

It's pretty darn ridiculous considering we only have 23 games left.

Those 4 games in 5 nights are a killer, AD and Lebron will definitely skip a game each here even if healthy.

I do hope they got the schedule wrong and we only have 3 left as you said.

[mighty_duck]

I do hope they got the schedule wrong and we only have 3 left as you said.

ESPN has it at 3 B2B games:

Feb 28/Mar 1
Mar 14/15
Apr 4/5

https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/lal/season/2023

Mar 15th is against Houston, which should be winnable even with AD and/or Lebron sitting.
Apr 4th is against Utah, right before the end of the season, when their priority is tanking.
No NBA game is truly a shoo-in though.

[ROballer]

I think it may be a timezone issue, I see the local hours for myself at the date of the game(eg 5 AM).


That explains it. I obviously want 3 back to backs and not 6.

[DanishLakerFan]

Lakers are 2 games out of the play-in and 3.5 games out of the 6th.

Utah is likely to fall given their trades. OKC traded away Mike Muscala, who's been good for them without getting back anything of real value, so you'd think they could be looking to tank - or at least fall a bit. Golden State is without Curry for a little while. Pellies are without Zion for several weeks yet, so maybe the Pellies wil drop a bit as well.

It sure as hell is going to be close. I think we are better than Portland, who is without Simons and Nurkic. I'm sure we will catch Utah, and OKC. Possibly Golden State and New Orleans, depending on health of Zion/Curry.

The 6th seed is probably going to be tough, though.

[zimpy27]

Assign a % chance they win each game and add them up, divide by 100 and you have the answer of how many wins you think they get.

GS 70%
@DAL 50%
@MEM 30%
@OKC* 50%
MIN 70%
GS 70%
MEM 60%
TOR 70%
NY 70%
@NO 70%
@HOU* 90%
DAL 70%
ORL 90%
PHX 50%
OKC 70%
CHI 80%
@CHI 60%
@MIN 50%
@HOU 90%
@UTA 60%
@LAC* 40%
PHX 50%
UTA 80%

15 wins and 8 losses

They could be lucky and nab 6th spot.
Likely that they make play-in with a double chance

[tamaraw08]

Assign a % chance they win each game and add them up, divide by 100 and you have the answer of how many wins you think they get.

GS 70%
@DAL 50%
@MEM 30%
@OKC* 50%
MIN 70%
GS 70%
MEM 60%
TOR 70%
NY 70%
@NO 70%
@HOU* 90%
DAL 70%
ORL 90%
PHX 50%
OKC 70%
CHI 80%
@CHI 60%
@MIN 50%
@HOU 90%
@UTA 60%
@LAC* 40%
PHX 50%
UTA 80%

15 wins and 8 losses

They could be lucky and nab 6th spot.
Likely that they make play-in with a double chance

Is there an assumption that Lebron and AD would not miss any games with this predictions?
60% to beat Memphis?
70% to beat Dallas, really?
50% to beat PHX?
Gosh, I just hope they get to 8th or even 9th but 6th, wow!

[zimpy27]

Assign a % chance they win each game and add them up, divide by 100 and you have the answer of how many wins you think they get.

GS 70%
@DAL 50%
@MEM 30%
@OKC* 50%
MIN 70%
GS 70%
MEM 60%
TOR 70%
NY 70%
@NO 70%
@HOU* 90%
DAL 70%
ORL 90%
PHX 50%
OKC 70%
CHI 80%
@CHI 60%
@MIN 50%
@HOU 90%
@UTA 60%
@LAC* 40%
PHX 50%
UTA 80%

15 wins and 8 losses

They could be lucky and nab 6th spot.
Likely that they make play-in with a double chance

Is there an assumption that Lebron and AD would not miss any games with this predictions?
60% to beat Memphis?
70% to beat Dallas, really?
50% to beat PHX?
Gosh, I just hope they get to 8th or even 9th but 6th, wow!

I assumed that both were playable but not 100% healthy.

Yeah those games are all at Crypto. Feel free to put.your own %'s down.
Treat it like this: 60% means you expect Lakers to win 6 times if they played the game 10 times. 70% means you expect Lakers to win 7 times if they played the game 10 times.

[Pythagoras]

4 games with the new look Lakers (acquired guys weren’t available against Bucks), team is 3-1, 2 wins being blowouts. Nice start.

Next two will be huge challenges. I feel good about the team’s ability to answer the call. They’re gonna win both.

[Beethoven]

Well, we gained some ground last nite w the win, and all of Portland, Memphis, okc, and of course gsw losing.

I feel the next two against Dallas and Memphis will be a litmus test.
If we split, I believe we'll barely make the play-in.
If we win both, we'll cruise to the play-in or even make the 6th seed.
If we lose both, season is over.

[stan francisco]

Our defense finally got good. Over the last five, we’re ranked 10th. Top 3, and I like our chances going deep. If we don’t improve the defense further, let’s not kid ourselves. Without defense much better than 10th, we might not even make it through the play-in. The west is brutally tight. Suns, Mavs, Clitters, Nuggets, Kings, OKC… Elite defense or bust is this year’s formula. Showtime!

[Pythagoras]

Our defense finally got good. Over the last five, we’re ranked 10th. Top 3, and I like our chances going deep. If we don’t improve the defense further, let’s not kid ourselves. Without defense much better than 10th, we might not even make it through the play-in. The west is brutally tight. Suns, Mavs, Clitters, Nuggets, Kings, OKC… Elite defense or bust is this year’s formula. Showtime!

Bamba and Vanderbilt are huge upgrades for the defense.
Vanderbilt gives them the versatile defensive forward they’ve needed for the last two seasons. Bamba keeps the defense from tanking when AD sits.

The team’s depth is crazy good right now. The fact that Lonnie Walker barely gets on the court is crazy to me. He’s a legitimately solid NBA player. It wasn’t that long ago that fringe players like Pat Bev and Nunn were getting significant minutes on this team .

[fteru6uhre54ew]

They have a squad finally. Man have guards who can shoot play defense and rebound. Since 2020 they haven't had that

[TheHartBreakKid]

They have a squad finally. Man have guards who can shoot play defense and rebound. Since 2020 they haven't had that

People forget that KCP's best 3 point shooting season prior to 2020 was 38%, with him failing to average over 35% in any other season.
KCP imo was our third most important player in 2020. There is no reason to think that Beasley can't play that role. Looking at the rest of the supporting cast, I think there is a good argument for this crew being better than 2020 (supporting cast only) That team didn't have a player on Dlos caliber either. That team wasn't this deep. While depth might not be a huge factor come playoff time when the rotation shrinks, but for the next 22 games that's absolutely helpful, especially if it leads to Lebron and AD playing less minutes.


Of course, it would be naive to compare current Lebron/AD to their 2020 versions. AD simply hasn't consistently played like that since 2020, with a 5ish stretch earlier this season being the only time that it was even comparable. While Lebron's numbers look great and he's definitely still a force, he simply isn't that dominant anymore. My point being, the supporting cast HAS to be better for this team to compete. But as you mentioned, they simply haven't been close to that good since 2020.

There is a long way to go for me to actually consider this team being on 2020's level. But it looks good on paper, and I'm very optimistic. To answer the OP's question, I think 15-7 is a reasonable and realistically achievable type of record to finish the season, which would definitely be enough to make the play-in, with a slight chance of getting the 6th seed. The elephant in the room is obviously injuries. Lebron/AD need to be available, even if they aren't at a 100%.

[TylersLakers]

We have a legit chance to win 16-18 games the rest of the way with this roster. Go through them. @ Dallas will be tough, @ Memphis will be tough, @ Minnesota will be tough (I'll be in the crowd), and the Phoenix games will be tough.

But there's a stretch in the middle where we'll have a good chance to win all of the games.

MIN
GS
MEM
TOR
NY
@NO
@HOU
DAL
ORL

7 of 9 games at home with the two road games being New Orleans (no Zion) and Houston (terrible team, huge Laker presence in the crowd).