The Lakers are eliminated from playoff contention for this NBA season. LeBron James and co. have struggled all season long, making this inevitable, and they’re in for a rough offseason ahead.
There’s a few more days left before the end of the regular season and the playing field is set as far as the playoffs and play-in tournament are concerned, with 10 teams from each conference already confirming their respective spots.
At the same time, we’ll also look at the intensifying MVP race to see who’s likely to bring home the prestigious individual award for this term.
Continue to read on below as SBOTOP shares the latest NBA 2022 updates.
Major overhaul looming for the Lakers
Lakers fans were hyped prior to this season as they’ve stacked their roster with established stars and veterans one year after their 2020 title. But what started as a campaign filled with championship promise ended with pain of failing to even qualify for the play-in tournament.
Prior to their match against the Suns, certain things had to fall into their favour in order for a chance to make the play-in given their woeful record. First, they had to start a win streak by defeating the Suns and the Spurs would have to lose each of their remaining games from here on out.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, none of those happened and now they’ll miss their seventh postseason in the last nine years.
Injuries have robbed the Lakers from building any sort of momentum this season as their Big 3 of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis barely played together. James and Davis have dealt with leg issues all year, leaving Westbrook to shoulder more load than he can handle.
Los Angeles went 11-10 when they shared the court – which means that they clearly needed more time to gel and be at their absolute best.
In the end, head coach Frank Vogel will bear the brunt of the blame and it’s likely that he’ll be relieved of his duties soon, according to reports.
Should Vogel move on, there’ll be no shortage of potential candidates linked to fill the HC vacancy as the Lakers have reportedly eyed the likes of Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers – who are both coaching for the Jazz and the Sixers respectively.
The Lakers may be led to believe that changing coaches will fix their disarray. But a band-aid solution may not do much since they have bigger issues to tackle this offseason.
MVP race continues to heat up
This year’s MVP race could be the closest in recent history and it could be decided up until the regular season’s final week.
So far, the MVP race has coalesced around the three best bigs in basketball in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Nikola Jokic. Out of the three, Embiid is the only one who hasn’t won the said award and he’s made it his personal mission to change that this term.
In their win over the Cavaliers last Tuesday, Joel Embiid was candid when asked about it, saying that “he doesn’t know what else to do to win the MVP award this season” since he feels that he isn’t being recognised enough.
While Embiid has publicly lobbied for the award. the NBA 2022 odds have Nikola Jokic repeating for the said award this season with -280 odds while Embiid and Antetokounmpo are at +210 and +800 respectively.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Devin Booker have also put themselves in contention, giving the voters more options as we’re winding down the season.
Examining the playoff picture
The Suns remain the best team in the NBA and they’re going to stay on top of the West alongside the Grizzlies, Warriors, Mavericks, and Jazz, while the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Clippers, Pelicans, and the Spurs will be jockeying for positions.
With the Lakers eliminated, the Spurs and the Pelicans have confirmed their spots and they are slated to face each other in the No.9-versus-No. 10 contest.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are locked into the eighth seed and they are going to face either the Timberwolves or the Nuggets.
As for the East, the Heat, Celtics, Bucks, Sixers, Raptors, and Bulls have sealed their playoff spots, while the Cavaliers, Nets, Hawks, and Hornets are in the play-in.
The resurgent Nets are not out of the mix for the No. 7 spot currently occupied by the Cavaliers. These two teams will go head-to-head on Friday in a game that might determine their final play-in spots.
The Hawks, on the other hand, are expected to take on the Hornets in the East’s No.9-versus-No. 10 contest assuming the Nets maintain their edge over them.
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