“LeBron James Knew They Didn’t Have Enough”: Kendrick Perkins Believes Lakers Need to Be Worried About Making the Playoffs this Season

The Los Angeles Lakers are definitely in a sticky situation. With Golden State getting their rhythm back, as of late, the Lakers are at risk of losing their 9th seed to Curry and Co. Speaking on this, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins believes that the Lakers have a slim chance of even making the playoffs, let alone a ‘deep run’. During a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, Perkins expressed his honest opinion on the Lakers season going forward,

“So far as this season alone, the Lakers better be worried about making the playoffs, rather than making a run in the playoffs…there is a reason that LeBron James was pouting in the trade deadline…he wanted Rob Palenka to make a move..because he[LeBron James] knew that they did not have enough.”

“The Lakers better be worried about making the playoffs, let alone making a run in the playoffs.”

@KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/M6iDuHTylb

— First Take (@FirstTake) February 26, 2024

Perkins definitely has a point. Most teams have already played up to 57/58 games this season, as the regular season enters its last 20-game stretch. The Lakers might have recently acquired Spencer Dinwiddie, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to take the Lakers over the hump.

Perkins correctly pointed out that the Lakers need more depth at the Centre position. Even though Davis has picked up the pace this season, the bench has mostly been a no-show. Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood have mostly been on and off, as bigger teams have managed to bully the Lakers. With teams like Denver and the Timberwolves having already dominated the Lakers this season, it is maybe time for LeBron and the squad to reevaluate their goals for the season.

All hope is not lost for the ‘Lake Show’

Looking at the Laker’s schedule for the second half of the season, it’s clear that the journey isn’t going to be easy. The Lakers have the 5th hardest remaining season this year. On the SoS metric (Strength of Season), which helps determine if a team should tank based on the winning percentage of their upcoming opponents, the Lakers scored a concerning 0.526.

In this year’s trade deadline as well, the team was not able to pull any significant moves. Historically, the Lakers have been able to attract big-name players, but this off-season was relatively quiet as they failed to land Trey Young or Donovan Mitchell.

If the Lakers expect to make the playoffs this season, they might have to take a page out of their book. Just last season, the Lakers went on a 16-9 run after the trade deadline to finish over 0.500, becoming only the fourth team in history to do so. They pulled off the feat even after dealing with injuries to both LeBron and Davis, while also trading away Russell Westbrook and acquiring Malik Beasley.

With the Warriors drawing closer, and the schedule ahead looking tough, the Lakers will have to get going now. If they do get stuck in the play-in tournament once again, it will come back to haunt them, later in the play-off run.