The Lakers’ run home was thrown into peril the moment LeBron James was ruled out for at least three weeks with a foot injury.
So, what are the Lakers’ chances of making the play-in now?
Well, LA has won 37.5 percent of their games without James so far this year. If we assume the best case scenario of LeBron returning in three weeks, and also assume the Lakers continue their 37.5 percent win rate without James, they would go 4-7 in his absence.
That would put them at 34-40 overall, and likely about six games out of the play-in, considering .500 has been more or less what’s needed to get the 10th seed lately.
That means the Lakers would probably need to win at least six of their remaining eight games once LeBron returns.
These are obviously some pretty rough numbers, but they give you an idea of how tough a job the Lakers have ahead of them.
The good news is they have the second-weakest remaining schedule, according to tankathon.com.
LA’s “other guys” managed to take care of business with James on Wednesday, and they’ll need to keep doing so to have any chance of making the play-in.
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