US media: The Lakers and Zhan Huang should thank the playoffs for giving them hope that three years ago they could give up the struggle

The Lakers have performed disappointingly this season, and the US media "The Athletic" wrote that the next fate of the Lakers is very clear, and they can basically only fight for the playoffs. LeBron James was against the playoff format, but now he and the Lakers should be thankful for the playoff format. Without the playoffs, the Lakers could now give up the struggle.

With the Lakers with 31 games left this season, their fate is already clear, and they will almost certainly make it to the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

The Lakers are currently only 9th in the West with 24 wins and 27 losses, 4.5 wins away from the Nuggets in the 6th place in the West, and five wins ahead of the Pelicans in the 11th place in the West. Given the Lakers' remaining schedule being third in the league, it's almost inevitable that they'll end up in the playoffs.

It's unlikely that the Lakers want to make it into the top 6, but there's no risk of falling out of the top 10 in the West for the time being. Perhaps, this is also the reason why the Lakers now dare to take cautious measures to let James, whose knees are swollen, continue to truce.

The Lakers should be grateful for the playoff format, which is also ironic, last year the Lakers beat the Warriors into the playoffs by playoffs, and James also spoke out against the playoff format, saying that "anyone who invents this format should be fired." Now, the playoffs have made the Lakers' last straw.

If placed in a season without a play-off format, James could now continue to play with injuries. But now, because of the solid position, the Lakers have given James more rest time, and they believe that as long as the whole staff is healthy, even if the Lakers start from the playoffs, they can enter the playoffs and go a long way. The Lakers have reason to be so confident, they made it to the playoffs last year through the playoffs, playing the Suns in the first round, and they were 2-1 ahead of the Suns at one point before Anthony Davis was injured.

This season, the Lakers want to achieve their goals, and entering the playoffs through the playoffs is the last hope, even if they have to play from the road in the first round and face the Suns or warriors. The Lakers have yet to beat either team this season, and even if the Lakers make it to the playoffs through the playoffs, their probability of achieving the next gram is low.

In moments like these, Russell Westbrook can only give chicken soup to the team, saying: "You have to always believe that you can do what others think you can't do. It seems to me that as long as we create this mentality between each other, we can forget about the record first. ”

It sounds positive, but the question is, how do the Lakers do it? The Lakers can no longer afford any injuries, but James is still recuperating, and Davis always has injury hazards. The Lakers are still trying to integrate Westbrook into the team, and the Lakers Big Three has played only 16 games at the same time this season. Pelinka's jigsaw puzzle around the Big Three generally did not meet expectations, Ariza, Ellington, Bazemore did not play an important role, and Nunn did not play a game this season.

If there is no playoff format for three years, the Lakers may now be able to give up the struggle and prepare for the offseason. And this season, because of the playoffs, the Lakers still have a path to the goal. Because with the play-offs, they at least have reason to believe they can do it.