The Lakers need to pick up their play the last week and a half or they could possibly miss the playoffs. Right now they are 40-36 which is good for the #6 seed in the Western Conference. But, they are only 1/2 a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets, 2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and only 3 games ahead of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are currently the #9 team in the West, but, they could very easily run off a bunch of wins because of the style of basketball they play. The Lakers will need the other 11 players to help out Kobe Bryant or their season will be over quickly. Right now their first round match-up would be with the San Antonio Spurs and that’s not a good matchup for the Lakers because of their team depth. The Lakers would have a better chance of beating the Phoenix Suns as they almost did that last season in the playoffs.