Stephen A. Smith: There’s a chance the Lakers could be title contenders

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith seems to believe in the Lakers and their new additions, and he seems to think they have a pretty high ceiling.

After a slew of roster changes via trade last week, the Los Angeles Lakers have a somewhat new look, and it has given them and their fans a renewed sense of hope the team can salvage its season.

The Lakers are 27-32 and in 13th place in the Western Conference, but they are just two games behind the 10th-place Oklahoma City Thunder and 3.5 games behind the sixth-place Dallas Mavericks.

While the Mavs, Phoenix Suns and arguably the Los Angeles Clippers have improved over the past week or two, so have the Lakers, and they could be poised for a nice run after the All-Star break.

If Wednesday’s 120-102 win over the New Orleans Pelicans was an indication, this iteration of the Lakers could be headed for a playoff spot. In fact, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith thinks they could end up as a dark horse championship contender.

“I like D’Angelo Russell on the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 17 points, 45% shooting. I like Malik Beasley on the Los Angeles Lakers. I like this kid (Jarred) Vanderbilt on the Los Angeles Lakers. They’ve improved their shooting. They’ve been able to spread the floor. They’ve improved their defensive prowess. If these guys are healthy, the way the West has looked, I can’t summarily dismiss the possibility that the Los Angeles Lakers could make some noise and, dare I say, potentially advance to a conference finals.

“… The Lakers, healthy, are going to the (Western Conference) semifinals — automatic, they will win the first round, they’re going to the semifinals, and I’ll give them a 30% chance (of reaching the conference finals).”

The West is more wide-open this year than it has been in many years, and there doesn’t appear to be a clear favorite right now. If the Lakers take care of business from here on out, they could possibly advance farther than anyone could reasonably expect at this time.

One thing is for sure: If they get hot the rest of the way and reach the postseason, every other playoff team will want to avoid playing them in a best-of-seven.

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