With the regular season schedule gradually decreasing, teams have entered a white-hot stage of competition for the playoffs. The current situation of competition for the playoffs in the West is also very fierce, and with the Clippers' ranking gradually leading, the current Western Conference play-off round is for the Lakers and pelicans. The Pelicans are currently just 0.5 wins behind the Lakers. McClem has been gaining momentum since joining the Pelicans, who are now on a four-game winning streak. The win gap with the Lakers has gradually decreased, and with the Lakers losing streak, the two teams currently have only 0.5 win differences. This means that in the next one or two games, the two teams are likely to swap places, and the Lakers may fall to tenth place in the West.
And once they land in tenth in the West, it means they will lose their place to play in the playoffs. That means they're going to miss the playoffs. So the next schedule for the Lakers they must ensure their winning rate. James has to give it up, and it has to come up with the playoffs all-out Model. Only in this way will it be possible to save the relationship between the Lakers and the water and fire, and bring them to the playoffs as much as possible.
If the Lakers can't make the playoffs this season, then the Lakers will have a huge shock in the offseason, which may include management, including the coaching staff, and even the whereabouts of big stars. If the Lakers can't make it to the playoffs this season, then James is likely to leave the Lakers, so they need to fight hard for the Lakers.
In the case of Davis's injury, the most stable point of the Lakers now is James. He needs to tighten the strings every game and play the rest of the game as a playoff so they can maintain an edge in the competition with the Pelicans. Know that the Pelicans are not to be underestimated right now. The combination of Ingram and Mikelum is now able to cut high scores efficiently in every game. They were able to play very well against a lot of teams.
Even their current performance is completely stronger than the Lakers. They'll meet with the Pelicans twice for the rest of the schedule, and these two direct conversations will also determine the rankings of the two teams. So now the Lakers must have a sense of crisis, and Vogel even wants to compete for the top six. For now, it would be nice if they could stabilize the ninth place in the West.