The Pelicans lost 103-107 at home to the Spurs today.
It is worth mentioning that before today's game, the Pelicans' record was 30 wins and 43 losses, pressing the Lakers and ranking ninth in the West, but after losing to the Spurs today, the Pelicans lost ninth in the West, and the Lakers returned to ninth in the West.
In addition, after the Spurs defeated the Pelicans, the record also came to 30 wins and 44 losses, only one win behind the tenth Pelicans, and only 1.5 wins behind the Lakers. That said, the Lakers, Pelicans and Spurs have very close records, but only two of their three teams can rank in the top ten in the West and participate in the playoffs, which means that there must be one team that will miss the playoffs and miss the playoffs.
Although the Lakers are currently in ninth place in the West, the Lakers may not necessarily get the opportunity to participate in the playoffs. Next, the Lakers will play the Pelicans twice, and the results of these two games will largely determine the ranking of their two teams. If the Lakers lose to the Pelicans in both games, they will not only lose ninth in the West, but also have the potential to be overtaken by the Spurs and fall out of the top ten in the West.
After the All-Star Weekend, the Lakers have only won four games in total, ranking third from the bottom of the league and only more wins than the Thunder and Blazers. In such a situation, the Lakers will still lose more than they win in the remaining games, and it is likely that the Pelicans and Spurs will be squeezed out of the playoffs by the Pelicans and Spurs, and they will not qualify for the playoffs at all. And even if the Lakers qualify for the playoffs, there is little hope of reaching the playoffs.
That is to say, the Lakers, who have formed a super luxurious lineup this season, are likely to not even enter the playoffs. In 2013, the Lakers also formed a luxurious F4 combination, but eventually barely made it to the playoffs, but it was still the first round of the tour, and it was still swept. The Lakers were able to enter the playoffs that year, and it was also Kobe Whoke who fought to break the Achilles tendon in exchange.
This season, the 37-year-old James also played a very powerful performance, but still could not save the Lakers. James averaged 30.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game this season, shooting 52.3 percent from the field. Never before in NBA history has a 37-year-old been able to perform like this.
And even at his peak, Jordan's personal data is similar to James's this season, in the 91-92 season, the 29-year-old Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, shooting 51.9% from the field. Of course, Jordan led the Bulls to a championship that year.