Robert Horry opens up on LA Lakers' current position and playoff chances
The LA Lakers are slowly climbing their way back into the playoff picture after winning six of their last eight games. Before losing to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, the Lakers were on a five-game winning streak. As a result, they've managed to bump up their record to a respectable 19-22. As of the time of this writing, LA is now only one game behind the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns.
Former NBA player Robert Horry recently opened up about his thoughts on the LA Lakers making it to the playoffs this season. Horry believes that the Lakers are a dangerous team, especially with LeBron James in the lineup. He's impressed by how Thomas Bryant, Dennis Schroder, and Russell Westbrook have been performing of late.
"You think about LeBron, 20 years, another player of the week," Robert Horry said. "For him to get healthy is gonna make the Lakers a dangerous team. When they got him in the game it makes it easy for other players."
Horry continued:
"If Westbrook goes out and he's in attack mode, Schroder's on attack mode, and our guy Thomas Bryant … He's a double-double machine and we don't talk about it. This team they have those moments when they piecing things together, they're figuring each other out."
Robert Horry said that if Purple and Gold can manage to win 30 out of their next 41 games, making it to the playoffs shouldn't be a problem. However, Lakeshow needs to get their act together and continue to dominate moving forward if they want to win. Horry noted that winning home games will be key to their success.
"I think these 41 games they have left, they have to win 30," Horry said. "Take care of home court, sneak a couple of wins here and there and then they'd be fine. Because that's gonna be the major key, take care of your business at home because they haven't been great at home. Now they need to be extraordinary."
Can the LA Lakers make it to the Playoffs this season?
Looking at the NBA standings in the West as of January 11, the LA Lakers' record of 19-22 isn't far off from the Golden State Warriors' 20-20 record. Golden State currently sits in the sixth seed and could potentially climb up the ranks now that Steph Curry is coming back. However, this isn't bad news for the Lakers at all. They still have several teams they can overtake given they win more games.
The Phoenix Suns are one team in the West that's suddenly declining this season. Then there's the LA Clippers, who are also struggling to win due to injury problems. The Clippers are currently ranked seventh, while the Suns are ranked eighth. If hypothetically both teams lose their next two games, while the LA Lakers win theirs, then the Purple and Gold could easily be in the top eight by next week.
Having said that, it's possible for the Lakers to be in the Play-In Tournament picture this month. If they manage to accomplish Robert Horry's goal of 30 wins, then the LA Lakers will most likely be at least the sixth or fifth seed to secure a playoff spot this year.