NBA Second Half Outlook

Well the second half of the season is underway. Some teams are jostling for playoff positions, others are fighting for a spot in the postseason, and the bad ones are trying to lose enough to get a good draft position.

You have to love it.

But there are a few interesting storylines going the stretch run of the NBA season and I’m going to break them down for you.

WILL THE LAKERS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

This is the million dollar question. If the playoffs started today, the Lakers, preseason title contenders, would be sitting in their nice suburban L.A. mansions watching them on TV. If this scenario occurs, it will be one of the biggest disappointments in recent NBA memory.

But good news Lakers fans (including myself), the Los Angeles Lakers will indeed make the playoffs. It will be a tall task for the team but I feel that they are capable of pulling it off.

Currently three games out of the last playoff spot in the West, the Lakers have the fourth-easiest schedule for their 24 remaining games. If the team can win at least 16-17 games, with some help (losses) from seventh-place Utah and eighth-place Houston, they should be able sneak into the playoffs as a seven or eight seed. Take a look at Bleacher Report’s analysis.

If the Lakers do get in, they will be a team that few will want to play. But first, they have to get in. I think they do it because the team is too talented not to make the playoffs and I believe that Kobe Bryant will will this team into the postseason. I mean when you’re capable of making faces like this….

Kobe Bryant has his game face on for the playoff push.

….you can pretty much do whatever you want*.

WILL D-ROSE RETURN THIS YEAR?

If you didn’t know, 2011 NBA MVP and star of the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, tore his ACL in last year’s playoffs and has not played this season. But he has been recovering and recently has been filmed dunking in pregame warm-ups.

So naturally, the people want to know when Rose will return. And I have the answer or you all.

He’s going to come back…exactly when he feels like he’s ready. It is nobody but Rose’s decision to make. When he feels like he is physically and mentally prepared to make his return, that’s when he will come back. His team is sitting relatively comfortable in the sixth seed of the conference and would love to have him back, but is also capable of making a playoff run without him.

Take your time coming back Derrick Rose. We would love to see you back at 100 percent and nothing less.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

First, here’s a quick look at the current standings.

Miami will cruise to the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. This is all but determined. But that is where the certainties end.

The teams with the second seed and sixth seeds are separated by only three and a half games. With around 24 or so games left for each team, there will be some jostling for spots and changes. So the 2-6 seeds will be some combination of Indiana, New York, Atlanta, Brooklyn, and Chicago.

Boston and Milwaukee are pretty much slated into the seven and eight seeds, respectively. I don’t think that Toronto has enough firepower to challenge Milwaukee for that last spot. So the East playoffs are pretty much set.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Now, peek at the standings again, this time for the Western Conference.

The West is pretty much in the same condition as the East with a few teams set in their positions, while the others are likely to move around.

San Antonio has the top seed pretty much locked up. Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers will jostle back and forth for the second and third seeds.

The next three teams will battle for the four seed, which gives the team home-court advantage in the first playoff round (and possible the second round). Memphis, Denver and Golden State are within five games of each other and will have to win most of their last games to get that coveted four seed.

The final two spots are Utah and Houston, for now. The Lakers are charging and playing well lately. These three teams will be fighting for the final two seeds. And this will probably be the most entertaining of the “playoff position battles.”

Well, I’ve dove into my mind and gave you some of my thoughts. I’ll have more for you all next week. Let me know what you think about the Lakers chances, Derrick Rose, and the upcoming playoff races by commenting on this post, tweet me, or talking to me on Facebook. Talk to me people!

*Photo courtesy of cleveredfool.com*