Will The Lakers Make The Playoffs? Odds Against LeBron James, Los Angeles Reaching 2019 Postseason

The Los Angeles Lakers are out of the playoffs at the All-Star break, trailing the No.8 seed Los Angeles Clippers by three games in the Western Conference standings. With only 25 games left on the regular-season schedule, LeBron James doesn’t have a much time to keep his playoff streak alive.

The NBA’s top star hasn’t missed the postseason since the 2004-2005 season, which was his second year in the league. Now that he’s no longer in the East, James could very well be watching basketball from home in mid-April.

The latest betting odds suggest that the Lakers are more likely to miss the playoffs than they are to reach the postseason.

Los Angeles didn’t add another superstar at the trade deadline like they were hoping to do. The Lakers made several offers for Anthony Davis, though the New Orleans Pelicans didn’t seem too interested in dealing their best player during the season.

Many of the Lakers’ struggles can be linked to injuries. L.A. was 20-14 and one of the top teams in the West before James suffered a groin injury that would force him to miss several weeks. The Lakers went 6-11 with James out of the lineup. He helped the team get a key win over the Clippers in his first game back, but he sat a few nights later as the Lakers were defeated by the Golden State Warriors.

Lonzo Ball could miss up to two months with an ankle injury. Los Angeles’ defense has suffered without their starting point guard.

If James can stay healthy for the rest of the season, the Lakers should have a very good chance to reach the playoffs. It was less than a year ago that James dragged the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals with one of the best individual postseason runs in league history.

James might need a repeat of last year’s second half in order to get the Lakers into the playoffs. He finished second in the 2018 NBA MVP race after averaging 29.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game on 53.9 percent shooting after the All-Star break.

Aside from the lockout-shortened 2011-2012 season, James hasn’t won fewer than 50 games since 2008. The Lakers haven’t made the playoffs since 2013, and Los Angeles last won a postseason game in 2012.