Lakers: How Ex-LeBron James Teammate Thinks LA Can Get “Within Striking Distance” Of Contention
This former champ believes Lakers are close to being true contenders.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a bit of a rut at the moment. After winning five games in a row, they’ve dropped two in a row, including a gut-wrenching loss to the Dallas Mavericks in double overtime on Thursday.
Even though L.A. is sitting at the 13th seed in the West, they are only one game back from the play-in tournament and two games back from the sixth seed, so the West remains wide-open.
L.A. has had opportunities to put itself in the playoff picture; however, they have yet to be able to take advantage of those opportunities.
Luckily for them, plenty of games are left to play, and the trade deadline is approaching if they choose to improve their team that way.
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson believes L.A. is within striking distance of contending if they make a move.
Jefferson is 100% correct.
The Lakers have improved since their embarrassing 2-10 start and are competing every night, but they tend to slip up on games they should win at the end of games.
The purple and gold also have not been consistent. In the Lakers’ last ten games, they’re 6-4 going loss, win, loss, five-game winning streak, and currently on a two-game losing streak. This has been the pattern for Los Angeles, and the time will come when they need to minimize the losses and turn them into wins.
A trade can most certainly help the Lakers going into the second half of the season and, hopefully, the playoffs. L.A. can make a handful of trades, and they’re all centered around guard Russell Westbrook.
However, will the Lakers brass pull the trigger on a trade within the next month? Time will tell; fans and LeBron James are getting weary. Could that force the front office’s hand? We shall see.
