Los Angeles Lakers Must Stop Winning to Avoid Jeopardizing Lottery Chances
By Kevin Holland
@KevinforSports
Getty Images
Okay, Los Angeles Lakers, nice work. That’s two wins in a row. Stop it — stop it now.
With a 98-92 win against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, the Lakers moved to 3-9 on this young season. The win also boosts them to the fourth-worst record in the league, behind the Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks. If the Lakers keep winning close games like these, they might go from putrid to average. They might even eventually find themselves in position for a playoff run as a seventh or eighth seed.
And nothing could be worse for this team.
Laker fans should be realistic. This team, as it’s currently constructed, is not reaching the NBA Finals this year or in the near future. In fact, it would be a miracle if this team secures a playoff spot this season. And if the Lakers did make the playoffs this season, they’ll likely get swept in the first round. They’ll also lose something much more valuable.
It’s quite simple: if the Lakers come away from next year’s draft with a top-five pick, they get to keep the pick. If not, it goes to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Steve Nash trade. This means that with every win the Lakers manage to pull off this season, they hurt their own chances of keeping that pick in what should be an above-average draft.
The future of the Lakers would be better served pairing a fully-healed Julius Randle with a top pick in the 2015 NBA draft, like center Jahlil Okafor. That only happens if the Lakers quit pulling off unlikely victories like the one they pulled off on Wednesday night.
If you’re a Lakers fan, don’t feel bad about rooting for your beloved team to lose. To do so this season is to root for the future of this franchise and to not settle for mediocrity.
Kevin Holland is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @KevinforSports or “like” him on Facebook.
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