Can the Lakers Make it to the Playoffs this Season? Rookie D'Angelo Russell Thinks So

Lakers' Rookie, D'Angelo Russell, seems a little too confident in the Lakers' ability to make it to the playoffs this coming season.

Confidence in your team is always a plus, unless you prefer extreme honesty like NFL wide receiver, DeSean Jackson. But D'Angelo Russell's confidence seems a bit wary considering the fact that he has yet to play his first NBA game. Training camp may be looking good for his team, but a real regular season NBA game is not something that can be taken so lightly. Technically speaking, Russell, a rookie, doesn't really have the right to make such a bold prediction...

"Expectations are high," he told recently Basketball Insiders, "but this Lakers squad will most definitely be a playoff team."

According to CBS Sports, even when Kobe Bryant was asked if the Lakers could make it to the playoffs, he sounded confident, but a little hesitant saying that while the Lakers "absolutely" can make the playoffs, they really don't know how the pieces are going to come together.

"Of course it can. Absolutely. We have talented players in their respective positions. We have some really young players. How exactly will the pieces of the puzzle fit? We really don't know. We are going to [training] camp trying to piece this together just like every other team does. We have to figure out what our strengths are, figure out what our weaknesses are. And every time we step on the court we are going to try to hide our weaknesses and step up to our strengths." (Yahoo Sports).

But Russell took it a step further and said that they will "most definitely" be in the postseason, which is an extremely bold statement to make, especially considering the fact that the Lakers are a Western Conference team, competing against last season's reining champions, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzles... all of which are more reasonable contenders as opposed to the Lakers.

Clearly, Russell is making an attempt to get on Kobe Bryant's good side after calling Tracy McGrady the G.O.A.T. on Twitter early last month (which he deleted, of course), according to The Bleacher Report.

At least he's winning the hearts of Lakers fans and giving them the hope they desperately need.