It’s been a very down year for the Los Angeles Lakers, who sit at 31-47 with just a handful of games remaining. Winning less than 40% of their games, the Lakers are now the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference.
In fact, Los Angeles has the eighth-worst record in the NBA at this point.
If the Lakers are going to make the play-in, they’ll need to climb one spot in the standings and earn the tenth seen. The team currently in that slot is the San Antonio Spurs.
On Sunday night, the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets while the Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers. This just created even more of an uphill battle for Los Angeles in its pursuit of the postseason.
With just four games left in the 2021-22 season for the Lakers, they’re a full two games behind San Antonio for that final play-in spot. Not only will they have to get close to winning out, but they’ll also need the Spurs to lose quite a few of their final games.
At this point, the Lakers no longer fully control their own fate. In a season filled with injuries, it may all be for nothing. Additionally, the Lakers don’t even own their first-round pick in the upcoming draft which is projected to be in the top ten.
