Lakers Playoff Watch: LA On Cusp Of Crashing West's Play-In Picture

Can the Lakers keep this up without LeBron James or D'Angelo Russell?

Yesterday, your Los Angeles Lakers surprised Vegas oddsmakers by defeating the Golden State Warriors, 113-105, in Stephen Curry's return from major left leg injuries. 

The 6'3" All-Star point guard suffered a lower leg contusion, plus a partially torn interosseous membrane and superior tibiofibular ligament last month, and had missed 11 games until yesterday's action.

With the win, the Lakers have secured the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference. Their 31-34 record actually ties them with the West's No. 10 seed, the Utah Jazz.

With LeBron James sidelined indefinitely due to a right foot tendon injury, LA has gone 2-2. Starting point guard D'Angelo Russell has also been absent for that entire span, too. In their steads, Troy Brown Jr. and Dennis Schröder have stepped up with expanded roles and touches.

The Lakers are actually just three games behind the fifth-seeded Warriors, who are merely 34-31, in a bunched-up Western Conference. That's probably as high as they can possibly get with just 17 games left on their schedule, and no guarantee that James will be back for, well, any of them. 

Conversely, LA is just 0.5 games ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder (the No. 12 seed) and Portland Trail Blazers (the No. 13 seed), both of whom sport 30-34 records.

Elsewhere in the play-in bracket, the 33-32 Dallas Mavericks occupy the seventh seed. The Los Angeles Clippers have slid to a 34-33 record, good for the eighth seed in the West, after adding ex-Laker Russell Westbrook (with whom they're 1-4). The New Orleans Pelicans are the No. 9 seed at 31-33. All of these clubs would be catchable were James and Russell healthy, but given James' advanced NBA mileage and Anthony Davis' frequent injury history, their health down the season's home stretch was always tenuous.

Tonight, just two play-in contenders will be active: the Trail Blazers (playing against the 15-49 Detroit Pistons, a game they will likely win) and the Pelicans (playing facing off against the 37-26 Sacramento Kings on the road, a game they will likely lose).

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