The Lakers have been playing like a fringe playoff team ever since Julius Randle got inserted into the starting line up (coincidence???? MAYBE), but it’s way too late for them to think about making the playoffs. What they should be thinking about instead is making it to .500 for the season so Laker fans can whine endlessly about having to play in a tough conference where winning half of your games doesn’t even guarantee you a playoff berth.
Randle can help them get there. The term “BEAST MODE” has never applied more accurately to another player, since Randle is playing like a beast and also looks like a literal beast. Eyeballing their schedule, it will be tough to crawl to .500 since they have to play a bunch of playoff teams and the only pushover teams they get to face in those last fifteen games are the Grizzlies, Mavericks, and Kings. However, I fully believe that beast mode Randle, 20 PPG scorer Kyle Kuzma, and a seemingly rejuvenated Brook Lopez can make anything happen. That includes getting me, a male, pregnant with a baby Kobe clone that I birth through my belly button and then cultivate into the world’s best midrange jumpshooter.