Fortunately, we have a glass-half-full progress report for the L.A. Lakers.
With the star power the Lakers possess and their current lack of success, it is easy to believe that all hope is lost. After all, the Lakers are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
It would be the second time since 1994 that the Lakers missed the postseason.
Still, the Lakers have not yet been eliminated from postseason contention. In fact, the Lakers remain just four games behind the Houston Rockets for the final spot in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Houston is 22-22 and happens to be in the midst of a stretch in which it's lost eight of their past nine games.
Furthermore, the Lakers have a positive point differential. As hard as it may be to believe, the Lakers rank 13th in the NBA at positive-0.9.
That either neutralizes the value of such a statistic or displays how well the Lakers play when they win and how close games are when they lose.
To touch on the latter, 16 of the Lakers' 25 losses have come by single digits. Nine of those losses have come by six points or less and four losses have come by one possession.
Defensive stops may be the difference between 17-25 and 21-21.
As poorly as they've played, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of one very important factor: The Lakers are not a team made up of average talent.
They have two league MVPs, two Defensive Player of the Year award winners and six All-Stars. It's time to place the paper greatness on the floor.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
