will the lakers make the 2019 playoffs?

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I am all in favor of continued Laker irrelevance and futility.

how many viewers will the league miss out on if bron/lakers arent in the playoffs

...and do they matter a damn to me?

I would imagine the league would not be happy

The league will make its money, even without LeBron in the offs. If the league is unhappy about making money, just because it is less money than it wanted, I cannot find it in my heart to care deeply, if at all.

cool

I think they get in. They were playing quite well before LeBron’s injury and so we’ve seen this team is more than capable of playoff-caliber ball. The Clippers have zero incentive to make it because iirc they lose their draft pick if it’s not a lottery pick, and as much as I love the Kings I’m putting my faith in Bron before I put it in that franchise and a bunch of kids.

they're 28-29!!!

Clippers haven’t shown signs of tanking since the trade. Mavericks are still hanging around and even the wolves are back in the mix a bit.

LA has the 9th toughest remaining schedule by opponent win percentage. 13 home games to 12 road games. Four back to backs.

How many “should wins” are there here? pic.twitter.com/GOpWQLwLgh

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) February 17, 2019

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im torn bc bron is bron but also fuck the lakers

Laker Film Room @LakerFilmRoom

The full quotes will be up soon, but LeBron is talking like someone who’s about to flip the switch.

yeah i mean he could will them into the playoffs with some heavy lifting but where does that leave them?

I think they have to make the playoffs to be able to convince anyone of note to come join the fold this offseason.

that's true. they have zero chance of getting out of the first round as an 8 seed, and I think the 8 is probably their ceiling. very difficult to imagine them jumping the Spurs and/or Jazz, and even then they'd just be playing their way into a first round against a far superior Denver.

I love Bron but it would be pretty fucking hilarious if the Clips end up with two superstars and the Lakers get bupkis.

truly the best outcome possible (sorry carne)

bron will pull through

i know in my heart that the Clippers will not win a chip in my lifetime so at least i have that

LeBron was not happy after the game tonighthttps://t.co/MPsqm9mnWN pic.twitter.com/kMPDoZPbOW

— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) February 24, 2019

"So you got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. So I'm not saying that's what we are as a whole. It kind of looks that way at times, that sometimes we're afraid to be uncomfortable and kind of get out of our comfort zone and kind of, you know, have that sense of urgency from the jump, and not be afraid to actually go out and fail to succeed. So I mean, we have, what -- 23 games left? We'll see what happens."

Please tell me Lebron James wasn't up at 11:43pm making songs with 2Chainz the night before a game against thr Golden State Warriors...a game he missed due to "Load Management"...

Someone please tell me I didn't just see that pic.twitter.com/UU5ad9gU8Y

— THE Monday Morning QuarterBLACK (@TheMMQBL) February 25, 2019

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/25/18240048/lebron-james-los-angeles-lakers-playoffs-culture

https://theathletic.com/836364/2019/02/25/the-lakers-are-eroding-and-its-happening-from-the-bottom-up/

Oram posted this Tweet from Pete Zayas noting the net ratings of Lakers players with more than 500 minutes this season. The four worst players on the list are Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The youngest guys (including the recently departed Ivica Zubac, the injured Lonzo Ball and the clearly-not-whole Josh Hart) all gravitate to the top with James.

Even more relevant for where the Lakers are heading into Monday’s game in Memphis and 23 remaining opportunities to try and make the playoffs, the split gets worse over time. Tyson Chandler, for example, actually has the best net rating on the team but that figure is significantly frontloaded. Over the last 10 games or so, Chandler has been almost unplayable and physically isn’t capable of significant minutes anyway. Nor is Chandler alone among the vets. Bigger picture, there’s basically no split available since Christmas where the biggest net-negatives for the Lakers aren’t the older guys. By a lot. And the more recent the games the more glaring the outcomes.

If LeBron weren't on the Lakers absolutely no one would be paying them the slightest bit of attention, or wondering about their playoff chances. The fact that these articles are being written has nothing to do with the Lakers' ability to play basketball; their inability is there for everyone to see. The Kings and Magic are more intrinsically interesting as teams that play basketball right now and are more worth writing and reading about.

not totally. the ringer did a piece recently which posited that lebron would be the best player to miss the playoffs in his prime since kareem missed twice 40 years ago. it's going to be notable if it happens.

The last time I looked, LeBron was not "a team that plays basketball". The most notable thing about the Lakers aside from having LeBron is how badly they are put together as a team and how poorly they play in spite of his presence. That fact is not very interesting for very long.

sigh

mod take: lebron missing the playoffs is bad for ratings but EXTREMELY good for messy offseason drama

lebron missing the playoffs will be fascinating because somebody with power is going to massively overreact.

that person will be...lebron james

or magic johnson, or jeanie buss, or your favorite free agent

all of the above

here's hoping

lebron running a long game of destroying the lakers from within then leaving for the spurs like he was supposed to all along

i missed this poll... i think i still would vote yes in deference to lebron but i'm closer to no than i ever thought i would be

bro they just lost to the hawks and grizzlies and have to finish the season with a .700 win % vs one of the hardest schedules in the league. theyre done

is bron gonna go social media silent when they don’t make it or is he gonna be sloppy in public

he's gonna be filming space jam 2 so I assume he'll be on social media haha

man the grizzles are so, so bad. and they pulled out that win without a ton of stress.

lakers remaining games

vs pelicans
vs bucks
@ suns
vs clippers
vs nuggets
vs celtics
@ bulls
@ raptors
@ pistons
@ knicks
@ bucks
vs nets
vs kings
vs wizards
@ jazz
vs hornets
@ pelicans
@ thunder
vs warriors
@ clippers
vs jazz
vs blazers

seems like they'll have to go 14-8 over this stretch to have any chance. let's give them wins against the pelicans (x2), suns, bulls, pistons, knicks, wizards, and hornets. that means they'll have to find 6 wins in 14 games against playoff teams

oh damn I gotta make the @Bucks one, I gotta witness this firsthand

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2018-2019 Los Angeles Lakers pic.twitter.com/vFsx0dJ6tD

— Steven (@SPURSWlN) February 26, 2019

sound on, i'm crying here guys

love to give them wins against the pelicans (x2), suns, bulls, pistons, knicks, wizards, and hornets when they just lost to the hawks and grizzlies

I thought that was Kevin's point, even if you factor in the games they *should* win it's an uphill climb

im gonna try to watch every single lakers game this should be great drama. worth noting that the wolves are now tied w the lakers and are also in the playoff hunt mix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcOrz8jKzsQ

brb changing my vote to no

the Suns are the only NBA team already eliminated from the playoffs. they just beat LA.

Yeah I’d like a mulligan too pls

more likely they get Zion than a trip to the playoffs

will def tip my hat to silver if bron lands the number one pick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWz-RU3OtmA

I know it's silly to speculate, but how much overlap would there be between bron's and zion's games atm? seems like zion could be on the floor with bron, but they'd be a rather poor fit together.

unless zion's projected to be an all star from day 1 i dunno why bron would have more patience for him than for e.g. ingram

down 13 to the clippers with 4 minutes to play...

loooool celebrity row melting down

Dear @lakers why do you do this to me? Do you realize there are fans out here that really care? This is seven years of this shit. Are you just gonna get more one year contracts in pursuit of a Star? I don’t give a shit about a star, build a team that loves and plays together.

— Flea (@flea333) March 5, 2019

folks are really going through it

as The Hoops Mod i declare this to be Very Good

try slap bassin' your way out of this sports anguish, big guy

Bontemps nailed this in October
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/10/04/even-with-lebron-james-lakers-will-miss-nba-playoffs-this-season-heres-why/

Well, almost...

Last year’s Lakers won 35 games. This year’s team, simply by adding James, should be in the neighborhood of 45.

tbf lakers prob wldve made the offs if they didnt have so many injuries

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26335718/how-lakers-wasted-year-1-lebron

Lakers statement: “After consulting with our team doctors and medical staff, we have decided to hold LeBron out of games for the remainder of the season. This decision will allow his groin to fully heal, and is best for the future success of both LeBron and the Lakers.”

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 30, 2019

🙃

does lebron make an all-NBA team?

i think so, despite missing so many games there probably aren't enough obvious forwards to keep him off.

praying for lebrons groin to fully heal

Lebron will make all nba I’m sure but I wouldn’t give it to him

try slap bassin' your way out of this sports anguish, big guy

― you know who deserves sitewide mod privileges? (m bison), Tuesday, March 5, 2019 5:57 AM (three weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

one of the best sentences i have ever written on this or any other Website

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2019/3/30/18288298/lakers-rumors-players-only-meeting-lebron-james-body-language-rajon-rondo-espn-report-news-video

😬😬😬😬

That whole McMenamin piece is great I posted above

https://www.fivereasonssports.com/news/windhorst-space-jam-is-lebrons-championship/

lol and then the follow up from Windy

LeBron has been unable to close deals with "top players" that he wants for Space Jam 2, per @WindhorstESPN pic.twitter.com/8RS6X2ut0v

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 4, 2019

honestly I love lebron but he deserves all the shit that’s gone down this year, karmas a u know what

Yeah and I just don’t see any of the big FAs making a choice to go there based on how this all went down. They may get AD via trade but the rest of the roster will be so trash if they do. And I’m not really sold on a Bron Brow pairing anyway.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4d8D_RfaCY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4d8D_RfaCY

The Lakers season is officially ending with Adam Levine celebrating his 40th birthday with a basketball game at Staples Center. pic.twitter.com/rNSJgpG4JD

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 10, 2019

Gentry said the fallout from the Davis trade discussions for the both the Lakers and the Pelicans was the most ‘toxic’ situation he’s seen in 31 years in the league.

— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 10, 2019

palinka to stay haha
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26487398/sources-magic-exit-stuns-lebron-pelinka-stay

Does Johnson's resignation change the way he feels about the Lakers?

"No," Davis said. "A great organization. Just like 29 other organizations. I have nothing to do with that."

AD is smooth. He lies much better than Trump does.

haha these clowns in washington right

Just citing a contrasting example. You must admit "Just like 29 other organizations" was a sm-o-o-o-th bit of double talk.

I have very little respect for AD

i've changed my mind, i now think the lakers will make the playoffs

they should def be grandfathered in like wade and dirk in the all star game

they should stealthily knock out the clippers and steal their uniforms