5 Reasons the L.A. Lakers Aren't Making the NBA Playoffs This Year

With L.A. now sitting three games under .500 after a Jan. 6 loss to the Denver Nuggets, the playoff chances for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers look increasingly slim.

It seems like nothing has gone right for L.A. since the season began. And now, playing for their third coach in two months and checking in as the Western Conference's 11th-best team, the Lakers are running out of time.

Maybe Kobe Bryant will start deferring to his teammates more, and perhaps Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard will suddenly shake off the injuries that seem to have sapped their respective strength. Those changes, and a great many more, will have to take place in short order for the Lakers to keep their sinking ship afloat.

At this point, there's just no reason to believe the Lakers have what it takes to shake themselves out of their season-long funk. There's just too much evidence to the contrary.

And if their downward spiral continues, what was once unthinkable will become reality: The Los Angeles Lakers aren't going to make the NBA playoffs this year.

Here are the five biggest reasons why.

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Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1473459-5-reasons-the-la-lakers-arent-making-the-nba-playoffs-this-year

New York Giants Los Angeles Lakers

Jets DE: Tebow should have played

There were plenty of players on the New York Jets that were willing to speak anonymously about Tim Tebow this past season, but none of those willing to be accountable to their negative assessment of their lightning rod of a teammate. But defensive end Mike DeVito isn?t afraid to attach his name to what he believes about Tebow, and it appear to contradict the message we have been hearing from the Jets organization in regards to the backup QB?s ability to help win games. While speaking with WFAN in New York, DeVito lamented about Tebow not getting an opportunity to do what he did while he was in Denver the previous season. ?I would have liked to see him get a chance,? DeVito said. DeVito said he doesn?t make the decisions and ?I trust the guys that we have to do that, but Tim has such an intangible in the type of leader and the type of person that he is. ?I think he?s a great leader. I think he?s a guy who could have won games for us, and I think that?s why we had him here. ?I really do fe

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/jets_de_we_needed_more_tebow_time/12582574

Houston Rockets Utah Jazz

Victoria Azarenka withdraws from match because of bad pedicure

On Friday, the world's top-ranked women's tennis player had to withdraw from a match on the account of receiving a bad pedicure.Victoria Azarenka was forced to back out of her Brisbane International semifinal bout against Serena Williams because of an infected toe on her right foot. The 23-year old had to back out just 30 minutes before the match's scheduled start time to receive treatment.Azarenka said she had been taping the injury up in hopes to be able to compete, but the infection got so serious that she needed to have a doctor remove part of the toe nail. Ouch."It just got infected from a bad pedicure experience. I had somebody who gave me infection," she said. "Actually the doctor said it happens a lot. Never happened to me (before), so it's something that I am definitely going to prevent for the next time.""I tried everything. We tried medication with taping, and I was playing through the pain for quite a while," Azarenka said. &...

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/tennis/article_external/victoria_azarenka_withdraws_from_match_because_of_bad_pedicure/12578014

Indianapolis Colts Lenny Wilkens

J.J. Watt Has a Finger Wag for Anyone Questioning Him Attending a Justin Bieber Concert

Watt has a finger wag for you, Bieber basher.

Source: http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/01/05/j-j-watt-has-a-finger-wag-for-anyone-questioning-him-attending-a-justin-bieber-concert/

San Francisco 49ers Dallas Mavericks

15 best performances in the BCS championship game

With the 15th season of BCS bowl action about to take place, Athlon reviewed the tapes of the four (now five) biggest bowl games in college...

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/top_15_bcs_national_championship_performances/12574636

Tennessee Titans Miami Dolphins

7 Takeaways from Saturday Night's Exciting NBA Action

Don't tell Sir Elton John, but Saturday night's alright for more than just fighting. It also happens to be a solid setting for NBA basketball.

That is, if the first Saturday of 2013 was any indication. Four games were worthy of League Pass Alerts, while a fifth featured a 30-point swing between two Eastern Conference foes.  

Sure, there were more than a few blowouts. The San Antonio Spurs, Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers created plenty of separation between themselves and teams that were supposedly on their respective levels.

But even those no-contests featured implications that may extend far beyond their respective box scores.

In any case, Saturday night's alright for ballin', as these seven takeaways will surely show.

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Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1472200-7-takeaways-from-saturday-nights-exciting-nba-action

Sacramento Kings Minnesota Vikings

Novak Djokovic nearly injured after fans seeking autographs fall (Video)

Novak Djokovic and a group of fans had a bit of a scare on Monday after a railing that was separating the autograph seekers from the world?s No. 1 tennis player collapsed. As you can see from the video above, several fans ? including some children ? went tumbling onto Djokovic and appeared to hurt some part of his lower body. He limped into the locker room after his victory over Andreas Seppi and later told reporters he was fine. ?It was a bit of a shock and I?m glad that the children involved are OK,? Djokovic said according to The Telegraph. ?I am fine.? Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Djokovic later paired with Ana Ivanovic and won his doubles match, so it seems safe to say that the minor injury didn?t have a lasting effect. The incident itself, however, may have. Djokovic may have never thought he had to be on his toes while signing autographs, but I?m sure people failing through railings will be in the back of his mind every time he does so in the future. Bizarre injury? Su

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/tennis/article_external/novak_djokovic_nearly_injured_after_fans_seeking_autographs_fall_video/12552808

Portland Trail Blazers Carolina Panthers