'We're a top-six team, 'Lakers can avoid Play In-Tournament an LA star believes

With an arguably stronger team, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to avoid the Play-In Tournament and go straight to the playoffs. Last season the team wasn't able to avoid it, still, they made it to the Western Conference Finals.

This time around, the purple and gold organization bet on continuity bringing the core back of the team that made it to the WCF and added new talented players, but things haven't been smooth and currently they are in the 9th seed in the Western Conference.

With less than half of the regular season to go, the Lakers are confident about making it to the higher seeds and avoiding the Play-In tournament. At least, that's what recently Christian Wood has expressed.

Christian Wood says he thinks L.A. can avoid the play-in tournament if they “come back with the attitude to try to stay consistent” after the All-Star break: “I think we’re a top-six team.”

The Lakers will have a harder time to make it to the higher seeds

The Lakers’ record indicates that they might miss out on a top-six record in the Western Conference once again. They sit as the No. 9 seed in the conference right now with a 28-26 record and are three games behind the Dallas Mavericks — who are winners of their last five games — for the No. 8 seed.