Tomorrow, the Lakers will play their penultimate game of the regular season against the Grizzlies. However, the Grizzlies are also miserable enough, they have released injury reports, and the number of players on the team who missed the game due to injuries is as many as 13. In fact, in the Grizzlies' regular rotation of 15 players, only GG Jackson and Jack LaRavia can play.
Therefore, the Lakers won this game, which can basically be said to be a certainty. ESPN gives the Lakers a 70.2% probability of winning, which I think is a bit conservative.
The Lakers released tomorrow's injury report, with thick eyebrows (left eye contusion) likely to play, and James (left ankle peroneal tendonitis) doubtful. Vanderbilt, Wood, and Schiffino remain out through injury. I just hope that Van der Biao and Wood will be able to make a comeback in the playoffs. (Premise Lakers make the playoffs)
With the regular season coming to an end and the Lakers' next two regular season games on the road, they took a family photo of the season today. I was relieved to see that Lao Zhan was in a good mood and smiling.
The last time the Lakers took a family photo was to win the mid-season championship, and the next time it was taken by the original team, it would only be to win this year's championship.
After the photo shoot, the Lakers will fly to Memphis to prepare for tomorrow's game against the Grizzlies.
Since the Suns won against the Clippers yesterday, the Lakers and Warriors are officially locked in the play-in area.
Earlier today, the NBA officially released the highest and lowest possible rankings for each team, in the Western Conference playoff divisions:
Pelicans: 6th highest, 10th lowest
Sun: 6th high, 9th low
Kings: 6th highest, 10th lowest
Lakers: No. 7 highest, No. 10 lowest
Warriors: 7th highest, 10th lowest
Of course, the best-case scenario is that the Lakers are in the top 8, so they only need to win one game in the play-offs to enter the playoffs. If you are ranked 9-10, you have to win two games in a row. 10th is the worst, and it will be difficult to win two away games.
And if the Nuggets end up in first place in the West and the Lakers are tenth in the West, the thought of the Lakers winning two play-off games and then turning their heads to face the Nuggets makes it even more difficult to laugh. In the regular season this season, the Lakers failed to win a single game against the Nuggets.
But it's good that if the Lakers make it to the playoffs and play the Nuggets in the first round, that's not a bad thing. The more you play in the back, the greater the physical test for the Lakers players, and it is better to fight this tough battle early. James is 39 years old, and the recovery period after the experience of attrition is definitely not as good as that of 29 years old, so it is better to play late than early.
This year is the third time that the Lakers have suffered the play-offs in the last four years, and the Lakers have successfully advanced in the previous two times.
In the 2021 play-offs, the Lakers defeated the Warriors 103-100 and advanced to the playoffs as the 7th in the West, losing to the Suns 2-4 in the first round.
In 2022, the Lakers unfortunately failed to make the play-in tournament.
In the 2023 play-offs, the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves 108-102 to advance to the playoffs as the 7th in the West, and finally lost 0-4 to the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
Some netizens shared his prediction chart for this year's playoffs, which is a bit interesting, and I have to say that he is still overconfident in the Lakers.
At this stage, the Lakers need to play steadily, win every game, and strive to get a favorable position. A game to win or lose, we can certainly trust James forever. But a fully healthy Lakers and united Lakers will have unlimited possibilities. Looking forward to the next Lakers, let's give us more surprises.
I believe that the Lakers will not end their 2023-24 season early this year.