Will it be Sink or Swim in LA?

  There's no doubting or denying that this has been a disappointing season for the Los Angeles Lakers thus far. This summer when the organization added superstar talents Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to their roster, the media, NBA fans, and certainly LakerNation were expecting and anxious to see, for all intensive purposes, an All-Star team dominate in the West similar to the convergence of Miami's Big 3. The Lakers started off 0-8 in the preseason, which was a red flag to some and easily brushed off by others. However, LA went on to struggle throughout this entire season and now stand at the 9th seed in the West with a  record of 28-30 and 2 and a half games behind an extremely offensively skilled team in the Houston Rockets for the 8th seed. For my avid NBA fans out there, when is the last time that you can remember the Lakers having a season in which even before the All-Star break every game was a must-win? Allow me to put things into perspective a bit. This is the first time in the Kobe-era (dating back to 1997) that the Lakers have had 30 losses by March. As soon as the struggles for LA became apparent that they were a habit and not a result of the team still being in the process of "gelling", critics and analysts everywhere were boldly striking them out of the playoffs. Had this season been 66 games as was last year's lockout season then I would be inclined to definitively agree. But the Lakers still have 24 more games to play. Are they really done?
  On Sunday evening, The Lakers pulled off a 103-99 strongly finished win over the Dallas Mavericks. Kobe finished with 38 points on 13-of-21 shooting, 14 of those points coming in the 4th quarter alone. Once Kobe got that "Mamba" look in his eyes it became clear that the chances of things ending well for the Mavericks were slim. However, the Lakers couldn't hold on to their urgency for long, losing to the Nuggets the next night 108-119. This very fluctuation, among other factors, seems to be a reoccurring issue and huge hindrance for this team. But I believe the Los Angeles Lakers, when all is said and done, will be playing in the postseason at the 8th seed. Why?
   Reports surfaced of Kobe Bryant making the guarantee that the Lakers would not only make the playoffs but also be a factor in them on Sunday. Say what you want about the man, he is a 5-time NBA champion, a future Hall of Famer, and one of the best players to play the game since Micheal Jordan (I will let the comparisons rest).  I am not willingly to bet against the determination and pride of Kobe Bryant.
   Secondly, the Lakers have found strategies that work to get them wins. The consistency of these styles of play however don't last long. Perhaps you recall the formula they tried with Kobe being a facilitator taking a significantly fewer number of shots and an increasing his number of assists. This method did result in an increase in the win column for LA. Will that style of play get them in the playoffs? Yes it will. Will it also get them eliminated in the first round? There is little doubt in my mind. Then we explore the second option that Dwight Howard, one of the best centers this league has, can be more aggressive and consistent. But after coming off of a major back surgery during this past offseason, Howard is not 100% healthy and that accounts for some of his inconsistent play. Howard has been the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year 3 times (2009-2011). Which brings me to my third and final issue with the Lakers: defense. With known offensive-minded coach Mike D'Antoni as the Lakers head coach, the Lakers defensive efforts are very inconsistent. When they take a "defense first" approach it has actually turned into good things for them and gotten them many of their wins.
   If LA can stick to a friendly mixture of all of these formulas for success consistently, they can surely grab the 8th seed spot. They must play with the same high energy and urgency night-in and night-out.  It would be a complete failure and hard to believe for a team this talented not to at least make to postseason play despite their struggles. With a win tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they will only be 2 games behind Houston and 1 game shy of the .500 mark. The odds are actually in LA's favor as they have won the last 20 straight games when facing the T-wolves. That is the longest active winning streak any team has over another in the NBA. Will Minnesota pull off the upset, if you can even call it that, or will the Lakers take one step closer on their road to the playoffs? Find out tonight at 10:30 on TNT.

Sources: LA Times