Will LeBron James, Lakers miss 2023 NBA Playoffs? Breaking down postseason odds, second-half schedule

Jordan Greer

Will LeBron James, Lakers miss 2023 NBA Playoffs? Breaking down postseason odds, second-half schedule image

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.

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.