Why the Los Angeles Lakers Will Make the Playoffs

For the last four months, all NBA fans have heard about was how and why the Los Angeles Lakers won't make the playoffs this season. Some of the Lakers' criticism has been deserved; they have underperformed and have at times look disinterested.

However, at the same time, going through two coaching changes (Mike Brown and Bernie Bickerstaff) and suffering numerous injuries (Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and Jordan Hill) have all contributed to the Lakers 31-31 record.

After all that, it appears the Lakers have weathered the storm in L.A. under their new head coach Mike D'Antoni.

Here's why they will make the playoffs:

The Lakers are 12-4 in their last 16 games and have beaten the Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks in that stretch. 

Los Angeles has been led by—who else?—Kobe Bryant during this stretch. Since the All-Star break, Kobe has averaged 32.8 points per game to go along with 6.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game, all while shooting 54 percent from the floor. MVP-like numbers, if it weren't for the season LeBron James is having. 

We are also finally starting to see a more solid contribution from Dwight Howard, who seems to be settling in as the Lakers' starting center. Since the All-Star break, Howard has average 14 points and 14 rebounds per game to go along with 2.6 blocks per game. That is the Dwight Howard people are used to seeing. He still isn't dominating the paint like he did for the Orlando Magic, but his play as of late has been improved. 



 

Good bench play from both Earl Clark and Antawn Jamison, who have both played much better since the All-Star break, has also been a factor.

The Lakers are looking up at both the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Since February 1, the Jazz are just 7-8 while...

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