The Los Angeles Lakers are currently fighting for their playoff lives on a nightly basis and after such a successful off-season, it is surprising to see the team eight in the Western Conference.
However, that is not stopping Lakers legend Jerry West from making bold statements about the team. West spoke to the Los Angeles Times and he said the Lakers can challenged any team in the conference. Despite the fact that the Lakers will likely not have home court advantage in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, West still believes the team can be a threat once April rolls around.
“I definitely wouldn’t want to play them, I know that,” West said. “I think they’d have a chance against anyone.”
The Lakers are ahead of the Utah Jazz for the eight seed in the Western Conference by one game in the loss column and they are just 1.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the seventh spot.
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At this point, the Lakers will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of playoffs, a team that will surely be tough to beat. If Los Angeles moves up the standings, it should try to avoid the seventh seed as it will get them a matchup with the explosive Oklahoma City Thunder.
Not many seven or eight seeds have had a lot of success in the postseason, so if the Lakers want to reach the NBA Finals, they will have to create some history along the way.