The Lakers transformed their roster at the trade deadline, acquiring players like Malik Beasley, D'Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt and sending out multiple pieces of their old rotation, including Russell Westbrook.
Now the big question is whether the new guys can acclimate to their roles around LeBron James and Anthony Davis quickly enough to give Los Angeles a real shot at securing a spot in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Earning a postseason berth will be no easy task, as the Lakers were sitting in 13th place in the Western Conference standings before the All-Star break. Can they close the gap with a late surge? Or will they miss out on the playoffs for the second consecutive season?
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Will the Lakers miss the 2023 NBA Playoffs?
As of Feb. 26, the Lakers have a 40 percent chance of making the 2023 NBA Playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight's projections.
Basketball Reference's playoff probabilities report isn't nearly as confident in Los Angeles' chances, giving James and his teammates a 10.2 percent chance to reach the playoffs.
Neither model views the Lakers as a serious threat to win the NBA championship.
Lakers remaining schedule
Some good news for Lakers fans: Los Angeles has the ninth-easiest remaining schedule strength in the league, per Tankathon.
The Lakers will play 12 of their final 22 games at Crypto.com Arena, including separate five-game homestands in early and late March.
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) |
| Feb. 26 | at Mavericks | 3:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 28 | at Grizzlies | 7:30 p.m. |
| March 1 | at Thunder | 8 p.m. |
| March 3 | vs. Timberwolves | 10:30 p.m. |
| March 5 | vs. Warriors | 3:30 p.m. |
| March 7 | vs. Grizzlies | 10 p.m. |
| March 10 | vs. Raptors | 10:30 p.m. |
| March 12 | vs. Knicks | 9 p.m. |
| March 14 | at Pelicans | 8 p.m. |
| March 15 | at Rockets | 8 p.m. |
| March 17 | vs. Mavericks | 10:30 p.m. |
| March 19 | vs. Magic | 9:30 p.m. |
| March 22 | vs. Suns | 10 p.m. |
| March 24 | vs. Thunder | 10:30 p.m. |
| March 26 | vs. Bulls | 3:30 p.m. |
| March 29 | at Bulls | 8 p.m. |
| March 31 | at Timberwolves | 8 p.m. |
| April 2 | at Rockets | 7 p.m. |
| April 4 | at Jazz | 9 p.m. |
| April 5 | at Clippers | 10 p.m. |
| April 7 | vs. Suns | 10:30 p.m. |
| April 9 | vs. Jazz | 3:30 p.m. |
NBA standings 2023
Western Conference
(Current as of Feb. 26)
| Seed | Team | Record | Games Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nuggets | 42-19 | — |
| 2. | Grizzlies | 36-23 | 5 |
| 3. | Kings | 34-25 | 7 |
| 4. | Suns | 33-28 | 9 |
| 5. | Clippers | 33-29 | 9.5 |
| 6. | Mavericks | 32-29 | 10 |
| 7. | Timberwolves | 31-31 | 11.5 |
| 8. | Jazz | 31-31 | 11.5 |
| 9. | Warriors | 30-30 | 11.5 |
| 10. | Pelicans | 30-31 | 12 |
| — | Thunder | 28-31 | 13 |
| — | Trail Blazers | 28-31 | 13 |
| — | Lakers | 28-32 | 13.5 |
| — | Spurs | 14-47 | 28 |
| — | Rockets | 13-46 | 28 |
NBA tiebreaker rules
Head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker. If teams split the season series, the next tiebreaker is higher winning percentage within the division if teams share a division. If they do not share a division, the tiebreaker is winning percentage in conference games.
