Los Angeles Lakers: Riding the Razor's Edge of Disaster

With only one month and 13 games left in the NBA season, the Lakers are riding the razor’s edge of disaster in the standings. Although they are presently tied for the fifth best record in the league, the reality is that they are only four loses away from dropping nine spots in the consolidated league standings.

The question is what happens if the Lakers drop to the third position in the West behind the Clippers or someone else. One game separates the two teams and only four games separate the Lakers from eighth place Denver.

Right now, the Lakers would play a young Memphis team in the first round of the playoffs. But if they slip to fourth place, they would play a much tougher Dallas team. Although the Lakers have beaten Dallas easily during the regular season, Dallas would pose a greater danger to the Lakers in the playoffs than Memphis who has played the Lakers well so far this year.

If the Lakers drop to fourth and form plays out, the real danger to the Lakers would come in the second round when they would have to confront the Thunder instead of the Spurs.

Granted, the Spurs would be no walk in the park, but the Lakers would have more success against the Spurs because of the similar ages of the teams and better matchups on the baseline.

In the end, the road to the NBA finals goes through the Oklahoma Thunder. The playoffs will give the Lakers more time to practice than they have had during the regular season. It is conceivable that the Lakers will improve more than any other team in the playoffs because of that.

But, Mike Brown needs to reassess his substitutions, look at minutes played by starters and quell what looks like a min-rebellion among his players.

The disenchantment with Brown seems to get worse with every game not better.

Bynum is apathetic. Kobe and Pau are fatigued. Metta is uninvolved. And Barnes and other bench players are lost trying to figure out their roles and playing time.

And Coach Brown acts likes none of this is going on around him. It is like he is worried about who took the strawberries out of the cabinet in a precursor to the "Lakers’ Mutiny." Unlike the Caine Mutiny, there will be no trial and no redemption. Brown will only get fired sooner or later without much fanfare or drama.

In the meantime, Lakers fans will be left to suffer through each game wondering when, and if, Mike Brown will make the necessary changes to his team.