Before the regular season began in mid-October, the championship-or-bust Los Angeles Lakers were given the second-best odds to win the NBA Finals this summer and capture a league-record 18th championship. But plans of a legitimate title run were erased long ago, and right now, they're in danger of missing out on the playoffs altogether.
With only eight games left on their schedule, the Lakers are treading water in the West standings. They're a ghastly 12 games below .500 (31-43), and own the final play-in tournament spot. Los Angeles hasn't won two straight games since early January, and according to FiveThirtyEight's projections, they have just a 2-percent chance to reach the postseason.
"The Lakers, they're out. They're done," Meadowlark Media NBA reporter and podcast host Tom Haberstroh told the Reiter Than You show on Tuesday. "The Lakers, with LeBron gimpy and missing action with the ankle injury, and Davis, he's doubtful for tonight's game, it looks like they're packing it in here... Now with the injuries to LeBron and AD, I just think this is over. I don't think they're going to make the playoffs.
"LeBron, an amazing season from him. But he's shown that he's human at this age. Like, when we were covering him in Miami, if he rolled his ankle, he'd just tie his shoes tighter, go out there, score 40 points. He's not that same player. He can't do that at this age. At this point, they're too banged-up and can't rely on Russell Westbrook at all to lead them to the playoffs. The Lakers are out."
The entire conversation between Haberstroh and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Reiter Than You show on Twitter @sportsreiter and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin