Let's Set Odds: Will The Los Angeles Lakers Make The Playoffs?

LeBron James finds himself in unfamiliar territory as the Los Angeles Lakers are desperately fighting for a playoff spot. The King has only missed the playoffs three times in his illustrious career and is dangerously close to doing it for the second time as a Laker.

As it stands, Los Angeles holds 1.5-game lead over the Spurs for 10th seed in the Western Conference and the final spot in the Play-In Tournament.

In case you're unfamiliar, the 7-10 seeds battle in an elimination-style tournament and the top two enter the playoffs as the 7th and 8th seeds.

With just nine games left to make a push, what are the odds the Lakers make the playoffs?

Let's Set Odds: Will the Lakers Make The Playoffs?

The Lakers cannot catch the Nuggets for the 6th seed, so their only path to the postseason is through the Play-In Tournament. But even that isn't safe, as Los Angeles has a brutal schedule ahead with the Spurs hot on their tail.

Likely underdogs in every remaining game except against the Thunder, the Lakers need to pull some magic out of their hat. San Antonio has two games against the Trail Blazers and one against the Rockets remaining, so their schedule is much easier than Los Angeles'.

ESPN's playoff projections give the Lakers only a 6.8% chance of making the postseason while FiveThirtyEight is even less bullish, giving them only a 6% chance. In fact, ESPN gives Los Angeles better odds to get a top-three draft pick (11.4%) than to make the playoffs.

If the Lakers survive the upcoming gauntlet and make the Play-In Tournament, they'll likely face the Pelicans in the opening round. New Orleans has a top-five net rating in the league over the last 15 games, so that's a difficult matchup.

If they survive the Pelicans, the Lakers would play the loser of the Nuggets or Timberwolves vs the Clippers. It'd be a fascinating "Battle for L.A." if it winds up being the Clippers and Lakers, but the Clips have beaten the Lakers seven straight times.

Put it altogether and there's a lot that needs to go right for LeBron and the Lakers to make the playoffs. I just don't see it happening barring some miraculous play from the King.

I'll meet ESPN and FiveThirtyEight's projections in the middle and go with the following odds:

Will The Lakers Make the Playoffs

• Yes: +1500
• No: -1500

This would give the Lakers an implied probability of 6.25% to make the postseason. It's possible, but it's far more likely that LeBron is watching the NBA Playoffs unfold from his couch than from courtside.

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.