LeBron James: “Playoffs Are Still Our Goal “

LeBron James talked about his Lakers today, saying that they still want to reach the playoffs no matter the current situation.

According to LBJ that was the mission before and throughout the season, and it still is.

“It’s been our goal from the beginning of the season, and it’s still our goal. We’re working our tails off to get there.”

For one of the best players ever, the current situation with his team is a bit odd. James didn’t have to worry about his team reaching the playoffs almost never during the entire career (except in 2005), but now, things are a bit different.

A situation like this demands a reaction, which means that James has to enter his form earlier than usual. It is something that doesn’t suit him well, but the circumstances leave no other option.

“My level of intensity has to be high, unfortunately for me, because I don’t like to do it at such an early time,” James said.

The Lakers are 10th in the West, falling under .500. Right now the purple and gold have 28 wins and 29 losses, which puts them three games behind the city rivals, LA Clippers (32-27).

Will LeBron and the Lakers miss out on the playoffs? #TheStarters pic.twitter.com/m96AZAsxiD

— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 20, 2019

Except for the Suns, there isn’t a colder team in the Western Conference when looking at the previous 10 games. During that stretch, Lakers won only 3 and lost 7 contests.

The upcoming game will be a huge one. Houston Rockets and James Harden are coming to town. They too are not safe enough for the postseason despite the fact that they sit at No.5.

After that, Lakers are going to have three easier matches, against Pelicans and Grizzlies on the road, and Pelicans again at home.

Obviously, every win will be extremely valuable for Luke Walton’s guys.

LeBron is still optimistic and he believes that the team has solid chances of clinching a spot which leads to the playoffs.

“Yeah, I mean if I can get to the postseason, whatever team I got, I feel like we’ve got a good chance.”

What might interrupt Lakers’ postseason hunt is the LBJ’s injury. Many of the fans are starting to speak about his age, saying that with 34 years he can’t play at the same level he did a couple of years ago.

The main fault for his recent injury is overloading. Instead of receiving support from his younger teammates, who should be the ones who are pulling the team with their youth and energy, LeBron found himself in an awkward situation.

Being one of the oldest in the team, he is in charge of bringing the energy on the field, instead of channeling it.

Except for Kyle Kuzma who is stepping up regularly, all other talented youngsters in Lakers team are not reaching their full potential.

Meanwhile, all attempts of trading for Anthony Davis turned out to be huge busts, which only damaged both chemistries in the locker room and Lakers’ reputation.

What is even worse, it could be possible that the Pelicans are going to trade Davis far away from LA, just because LeBron openly tampered.

LeBron goes with a baseball reference to say where he is physically (close to before the injury) and ends with a little zinger about his weight. pic.twitter.com/Z0w7kPHf05

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) February 20, 2019

The future is not bright at all for purple and gold. They playoffs are far away for now, and even if they enter the postseason, chances of doing something notable are pretty low.

Maybe the second round and that is it. Realistically speaking.

At the beginning of the season, the ambitions were high, words were big, and the title was the ultimate goal. But as time went, the whole story got a different course.

We’ll see what happens next. LeBron is ready to fight, and despite the odds, the King should never be underestimated.