Playoffs

  The Lakers have 24 games left in their season, and with their record a disappointing 28-30, they are three games out of a playoff spot in the NBA's Western Conference. Join Times Lakers writer Mike Bresnahan at 11:30 a.m. today for a live discussion of what the Lakers need to do to make the playoffs. As Bresnahan wrote earlier this week, "There is one place the Lakers (28-30) lead the league, and it's certainly not victories. They are surrendering 16.3 fastbreak points a game.

Here are three reasons the Lakers would have no problem beating the Dallas Mavericks in the 2012 NBA playoffs. 1. Motivation. The Lakers may have adopted a grinding mentality under Coach Mike Brown. But they've still shown that external circumstances drive them. Whether it's locker-room drama or responding to teams they don't like, the Lakers have and always will thrive on conflict. In this case, the Lakers are still stewing over Dallas sweeping them in the 2011 Western Conference semifinals.

    Are you ready for some shutouts? Bring on the goalies - the Kings' Jonathan Quick and the Blues' Brian Elliott. They both recorded shutouts in the last regular-season meeting between Los Angeles and St. Louis, on March 22, at Staples Center. The Kings eventually won, 1-0, needing four rounds of a shootout to settle the issue. The Kings and the Blues will meet in the second round of the playoffs, starting in St. Louis, possibly on Friday or Saturday.  But first, though, a word or two about the past before exploring the future.

This is hardly a surprise. The Lakers typically open the NBA playoffs on Sunday afternoons. It's one of the easiest schedule quirks that ensures that L.A. plays the league's marquee game when most fans are at home. But it's now official. The Lakers will open their first-round series ranked third and host Game 1 at Staples Center either against the Dallas Mavericks or Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets (37-28) have a one-game lead for sixth place over the Mavericks (36-29) and will have the No. 6 seeding should they beat Minnesota on Thursday night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' playoff hopes aren't dead yet, but they are certainly dwindling. The Times' Dodgers writers Dylan Hernandez and Steve Dilbeck explained the team's playoff chances and what happened this season in a Google+ hangout on Tuesday. “It's a bit of a longshot,” said Hernandez explaining how the Dodgers' fate is no longer in their own hands. For the Dodgers to make the playoffs they have to win both of their remaining two games against the San Francisco Giants, who they face at home Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. Pacific time.

Every NBA team is subject to roster changes leading into the season and up through the trade deadline. But in the spirit of seeing how things have evolved for the Lakers since the 2012 NBA playoffs ended, this is the first part of a series breaking down their potentially troublesome Western Conference opponents Team: Oklahoma City Thunder Lakers' record versus Thunder last year: 1-2 in regular season; lost 4-1 in Western Conference semifinals...

Writers from around the Tribune Co. will discuss the upcoming Major League Baseball season during the next two days. On Monday, they will look into their crystal balls and predict which American League teams will make it into the postseason. Check back throughout the day for more responses and join the conversation with a comment of your own. Mike DiGiovanna, Los Angeles Times I think the top four teams in the American League are, in no particular order, the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels, and I would be stunned if all four, under the new five-team playoff format, didn't reach the postseason.

The walk to the team bus was short but still left eons for Steve Nash to ponder the imponderable. Will the Lakers miss the playoffs? "I think about it every day," he said in a quiet moment after their latest loss, Wednesday in San Antonio. "We've got to make some serious ground up here quickly. We're in deep, and we've got to find a way to scratch and claw and get to 48 wins. " He chose 48 because it was tossed his way by a reporter. It's the average number of victories claimed by the eighth and final team in the Western Conference playoffs the last five years.

The Lakers are still in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, but with 21 games left in the regular season are still close to climbing into the top eight. Former Lakers star and executive Jerry West, who is currently an executive board member for the Golden State Warriors, thinks the team will land a post-season berth. "The Lakers are playing better now, especially defensively," West told the website SportsOnEarth.com on Sunday. "I think they'll make the playoffs.

You'll have to forgive the nicest guy in the NBA if he ignores your complimentary tweets for several weeks. Jamal Crawford is not being rude. He is, to put it in his words, "#onamission. " The Clippers guard has vowed to stay off Twitter during the playoffs, apologizing to his roughly 279,600 followers with a 140-character missive on the eve of his team's series opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. "Anything worth having is worth working hard for, thank you guys for all the support," Crawford tweeted Friday.