1. (Cue the sweeping Hollywood music) The Lakers struggle until the ASB, then make a MIRACULOUS run to make the playoffs, make MIRACULOUS comebacks several times over to make the finals, where they meet David Stern’s other favorite team, the Heat. It doesn’t matter who wins at that point, Stern exits having seen his dream matchup.

2. The Lakers continue to struggle, fail to make the playoffs, then MIRACULOUSLY defy the odds to get the #1 pick in the lottery a la Patrick Ewing to the Knicks or the sick kid getting #1 for the Cavs a few years ago.

If either of those actually happen, I’ll believe in the honesty of the NBA and its ringmaster, Little Caesar, as much as I do in Manti Te-o’s stories.

Everyone was marvelling at the Laker’s offseason this last summer, picking up Howard and Nash. I still think it was the right thing to do this late into Kobe’s career. The window is closing. Middle to late first round draft picks aren’t going to do anything, esepcially in the next few years.

It’s unfortunate that the Lakers can’t get their starters healthy. This is certainly a playoff team when healthy.
The Lakers made a good gamble, and so far it isn’t panning out. But it was a good try.

A few flashes of brilliance do not constitute proof that the Lakers are right on schedule for making the playoffs and doing well. It takes more than a few brief flashes Darius to make a promising season pan out.

Two reasons why the Lakers either won’t make the playoffs or will get wasted in the first round – Dumbtoni and Nash. Dumbtoni is too stupid to create a defensive plan, he never has yet in his pathetic loser career and he won’t with the Lakers. Ancient Nash is too old and lazy to play defense, heck he never bothered to play defense in his whole career. Dumbtoni wants to play small ball with a big ball team, totally stupid.

No the Lakers are right on schedule to not make the playoffs and I’m peeved that the little idiot buss boy has screwed up the great team that Daddy Jerry Buss built.

Fire Dumbtoni!!! Trade Away Ancient Nash!!! We Want Phil and Jeanie!!! Fire the little idiot buss boy!!!

Sekou Smith: No. Rock bottom is the Lakers sitting outside of the top eight in the Western Conference standings in mid-April. Then and only then will it sink in around Lakerland that this team is scraping the bottom. Even now, with all of the mounting evidence against their chances of simply making the playoffs, there are those who continue to believe that the Lakers will somehow miraculously recover from the mess that has been the first two and a half months of their season. Their fairy tale ends with the No. 8 seed Lakers defying the odds and winning a title and shutting all of their haters up with a confetti-filled scene on the last night of the season in Miami or New York. Must be fun to live in that land of make believe.

I’m going to try and have some self control and stop reading every stupid Lakers post that comes up (not that this one is stupid, just that there are so many Lakers articles on PBT.. most are to keep the $ rolling in).

They’re done. Best case scenario 8 seed where they get ran off the court by OKC/Clips. It may bring in less money PBT, but some Clips/Warriors articles (the real California teams) would be nice as well..

Lakers still suck. A few nice team plays per game isn’t going to get them anywhere.

Part of the fanbase is tearing their hair out wondering how it all went wrong.
The other part is delusional enough to think the team is going anywhere.

I can’t figure out which I find more entertaining.

Id bet the house on the lakers nit making the playoffs.

you? well…ya know.

But, Kobe still shot way too much.

Teams win with defense and unselfish play; neither of which exist, here. I can only imagine how tough it is to play hoping for an offensive rebound off of a Kobe miss or a howard foul shot miss.