Lakers News: Hall Of Fame Point Guard Thinks West Leaders Are Afraid Of LA

Can the Lakers stay healthy long enough to make some playoff noise?

At 39-38, your Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in the thick of the Western Conference's play-in tournament race. Los Angeles currently occupies the West's eighth seed after the Pelicans' win last night moved them into the seventh seed.

The Lakers are just a game behind the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers (41-38) and 1.5 games behind the fifth-seeded Golden State Warriors. There's a chance they could skip the play-in tournament entirely.

Even the top teams in the Western Conference have looked vulnerable of late. The No. 1-seeded Denver Nuggets (51-26) have lost two games in a row, and are just 5-5 across their last ten contests. The Memphis Grizzlies have played well recently, but are missing two of their top three frontcourt players with major long-term ailments. Reserve big Brandon Clarke is done for the year, but starting center Steven Adams may return in time for the postseason. The Sacramento Kings have one of the top-ranked offenses in league history, but a paltry defense. The star-studded Phoenix Suns may have the highest ceiling of any team in the conference, but they can't stay healthy.

The Lakers could mount a convincing case against any one of these clubs. But like Phoenix, their best players have trouble staying on the court.

Legendary former Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas, now a commentator for Turner Sports, considers the Lakers, like the Suns, to be a potential sleeper in the West during the playoffs.

“There’s not one team that’s saying ‘I want to play LeBron and the Lakers in the first round.’” @IsiahThomas on the Western Conference playoff picture pic.twitter.com/BHZQ3BFbyz

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 30, 2023

“A month ago, we had the Lakers dead. I mean just straight dead, before the trade deadline everybody hated them," Thomas noted. "And now they're eight. And not only are they eight, but they're playing well."

[Those] seven teams that are above [LA], 1-7, there’s not one team that’s saying ‘I want to play LeBron and the Lakers in the first round.’ So there is some fear there. I mean, you're looking at the Lakers at eight, that's the thing that surprises me the most. And that's the time I think that nobody really wants to face, but that Timberwolves team is pretty good also.”

LA will have its next opportunity to make some noise and improve its Western Conference ranking tonight at 4 p.m. PT, when it squares off against the tanking 19-59 Houston Rockets, the conference's 15th seed.

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