Lakers News: LA’s Title Odds Plummet As James Harden Joins Clippers

This isn't good.

After the rival Los Angeles Clippers acquired All-NBA and future first-ballot Hall of Famer James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for (more or less) a bag of chips, here's how ESPN's analytics department sees the Western Conference shaping up come playoff time:

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The Clippers soaring into the top spot in the Western Conference isn't too big of a surprise, as their core of Harden, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and one of the best cast of role players in the league makes for an incredibly difficult out come next spring. 

To that end, putting them above Denver, who was unstoppable last season and frankly, looks even better this season, seems unjustifiable, as the Clippers' lengthy injury history and subsequent playoff under-performances of the past few seasons should cap out their odds to being just behind Denver. 

The takeaway from this, however, more than ESPN's overconfidence in the Clippers, is how this impacts your Los Angeles Lakers' odds. 

Previously sitting top-three in the West, the Lakers are now 4th with less than an 8% chance of even winning the Western Conference. 

It's easy to criticize how high Golden State's odds are compared to the Lakers, but irrespective of that, LAL's odds have plummeted and they now sit in a dire position to stay competitive in the West. 

Logically, there may be a need to push for a blockbuster deal from the Lakers front office. Without a high-level third option alongside LeBron and Anthony Davis (as Reaves has struggled tremendously), it'll be tough for the Lakers to be compete with more complete rosters like that of LAC or the Nuggets. 

This is especially true given how both teams have the Lakers' number, with the Clippers sporting a 29-6 record against LAL since the 2014-2015 campaign, and Denver sweeping LAL in the Western Conference Finals. 

Given how seeding will play out, there's also a very high likelihood that the Lakers will have to take on either an improved Warriors team, the Nuggets, or the Clippers, even before the Western Conference Finals, and potentially as early as the first round if they're seeded near the middle of the conference. 

This isn't the move that the Lakers wanted to see happen, but perhaps the Clippers self-destruct yet again, as they've done seemingly every season of relevance. 

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