The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in the playoff picture having won their third straight game following another Utah Jazz defeat over the weekend. They Lakers are now sitting on 33-31 as the Jazz have dropped lost four consecutive games. Find out why the Lakers will remain in the eight place and possibly work their way up higher in the standings.
The Jazz have a pretty uncomfortable schedule ahead. Some are looking at Monday night's game against the Detroit Pistons as a must win for Utah. Why's that? It's not like the season ends tomorrow. Well, after the Jazz face the Pistons, they see The Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. All five times are above .500 and are all well in the playoff picture.
The first three games feature teams within the Top 4 in their conference. The Thunder are just a game behind the Spurs in the Western Conference, while the Grizzlies are in fourth. The Rockets are in seventh place, but they are making a run at the Golden State Warriors who are just a game above them.
Speaking of the Rockets and Warriors, the Lakers are just a game behind the Rockets and two games behind the struggling Warriors. Both the Lakers and Rockets can move up in the standings, but the Lakers are the hotter team right now.
It seems like everything has fallen into sync as the Lakers are making late-game runs and Kobe Bryant is playing like he was 27 years old again. He wants to win a championship and though the Lakers would have to defeat the Thunder, Spurs, Grizzlies and possibly the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, Bryant says he wants to win another championship.
The Lakers do possess a lot of talent, but they might not be agile enough to defeat these more competitive teams. For now, they will concern themselves with simply making the playoffs, and once there, the Lakers have enough confidence to believe that they can compete against anybody.
The Lakers next game is against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. While the Jazz face the Pistons at 7 p.m. ET Monday.