17-6 Next 23 Games Assuming.....

[King Randle]

After all the trades I thought we would end up 45-37, with a healthy squad. The fact we were 43-39 with all the injuries is amazing. An outstanding trade, all of them, Rui, DLO, Vando, Beaz and Mo. I know it’s going to be tough to retain everyone but my hope is Rui, Beaz and Mo take less yearly for multi year deals….but it’s going to be tough.

[Hanging from Rafters]

Golden State W
Dallas W
Memphis L
OKC W
Minnesota W L -loss…expected win
Golden State L W +win…expected loss
Memphis W
Toronto W
New York L
New Orleans W
Houston W L -loss…expected win
Dallas L
Orlando W
Phoenix L +win…expected loss
OKC W
Chicago W L -loss…expected win
Chicago W
Minnesota W
Houston W
Utah W
Clippers L
Phoenix W
Utah W

17-6

44-38 Season Record.

Correctly predicted 18 of the last 23 games.
Misses:
loss to Minny (1st of the two games remaining at the time)
won against GSW
loss one to Chicago instead of predicted sweep
won both against Phoenix instead of predicted split

The wins and losses balanced out with the missed above for the predicted
17-6 record for the 6th seed.

Well…the Lakers finished one less than predicted at 16-7 for 7th…what happened?
That darn Houston game 😖 Which I blame the front office for and afterwards I hadn’t posted until they got a center for the last roster spot. I actually wanted Cousins-C and Kemba-PG knowing the needs but ok with TT and Shaq for defense. It just shows that Pelinka knows what to do he just refused to do it in time to give the team the seeding it could have had…like the trades at the deadline. I guess better late than never.

If the team wins the first playin game they will have made up for the FO not signing a C sooner because signing a center sooner would have made them a playoff team in the 2/3 bracket. Winning the first playin game makes them a playoff team in the 2/3 bracket like they should have been had a center been signed when it should have. Basically winning the 1st playin puts the Lakers close enough to where they would have been had a center been signed when it should have happened…no later than Mo Bamba’s injury. Houston’s 78 paint points tells me the Lakers had a high probability of beating them with any big stiff capable of getting a few rebounds and altering a few shots.

If the trades had been made before training camp the team would at least have home court advantage in the 1stRd and it’s reasonable to have expected them to defeat the opponent. So to make up for waiting until the deadline to make the trades the team has to at least get to the second round…that would imo put the Lakers in the minimum spot they should have been in had the trades been made before the season. We can assume home court advantage from then on was sacrificed to keep the other FRP and get a better deal. All would have been worth the risk of waiting if the Lakers get to the 2ndRd in the 2/3 side of the bracket…which is where they would have been anyway if the roster additions had been make earlier. We’ll see if Pelinka’s gambles paid off this season or if he sacrificed this season waiting to keep pic and the delay to add C/PG depth.

My take 😝
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“When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”

[nevitt_smrek]

Amazing turnaround and not throwing in the towel on the season. Front office knows time with LBJ is limited. Props for getting rid of WB and improving depth and fielding a competitive team. As long as AD can stay on the floor (knock on wood), there's belief.
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Smrek 2, Nevitt 1, Barkley 0

[gng930]

Just like that we have 6-7 legit closers.
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