I think this might be his last year with the Lakers and after that, he will request a trade for sure and there will be some teams who will be interested with him still.
I don't think that he can still afford to stay on the Lakers one more year with what is happening. Yes he is one of the defenders of Westbrook against bashers but it looks like it didn't work the way he wanted to be. He thought that they can still be a championship contender but they aren't.

Now with what is happening with the Lakers, it seems like their chances of entering the playoffs is going down. Now even the Laker fans aren't like them anymore and they are chanting boo's with the team already. Its understandable though that Lebron aren't the same as he was a few years ago because of his age but the problem is if he isn't playing, the team isn't playing well. AD is injured as well and Westbrook?? No comment for him anymore .

Well, I will give a general answer.

I believe I wasn't very specific in my question, sorry.

I don't know, but sure, maybe Hornets or Hawks will go to the playoffs (uncertain). Or Nets can move up some positions.
In the Western Conference, Lakers will go to the playoffs!!?

Another example is that in the "playoffs separate the boys from the men"

Yes, injuries are also a decisive factor in a game. Like the injury Klay Thompson suffered during the finals against the Raptors.
I'm sad about CP3's injury, once again he gets injured, I believe this is even a curse he carries. I hope he gets back to the Suns as soon as possible, because the team needs him.

For example, let's imagine the playoffs start today, which team do you think are more likely to advance, Nets or Heat? Bucks the Cavs? Lakers vs Suns (if Lakers manage to qualify)

I imagine we can see some surprises between these games

Doncic is an extraordinary player, he is on his MVP level again and I think he really has a chance here. Mavericks now have different attackers, the addition of Dinwiddie   was really huge for the team and he was consistent in the previous games also. And by the way, Luka almost had a triple double here, just short 1 TO for 10 TO, 

It will be a very tough match for anyone against Luka because his basketball IQ is very high. And with Dinwiddie, it open up the floor space for their shooters. So it's good to bet on Mavericks if they are the underdog on the game. Curry did his best, but Luka was too much. They just had to be very consistent to win more games.

Not taking away anything from Doncic and the Mavs but it was really odd to see GSW score only 13 points in the fourth quarter. They didn't have their best offensive line up during that game but still not expecting a poor output.

Anyway, it's good Kerr still taking something positive from the meltdown:
^ Good point.

Maybe you're missing the main message of Kerr. I don't think he's specifically referring to the Mavs or any other team. He's most likely saying you'll see a lot of twist and turns during a game (like what just happened) during playoffs and its good that the players are experiencing it as early as now. The message is not for the veterans like Curry but for the new players with little or zero playoff experience.

Nets had a great victory against Bucks and I found Seth Curry and Andre Drummond's contribution quite important for the victory. And at the other hand of the trade, 76ers also had huge benefits from this. Harden had a huge triple double in New York against the Knicks. I think 16 assists and 5 steals also are important. And the chemistry between him and Joel Embid. It seemed in these two games that they play like they are teammates for years. It is exciting time in the season because of this trade. I would favor both of the teams in my betting.

Like what I previously mentioned, the tandem of Harden + Embiid reminds of that era where 1+2 PG and Big men used to dominate the ring. We all know on how capable Harden can be when he is with a Center that can finish his pick and rolls. Since that he is teamed up with arguably the best center on the league, he just fitted perfectly on the chemistry of the 76ers.

With regard to Simmons, I do hope that he finds his role perfect on the Nets. If he can consistently develops his jumper, then he can find a good place in the Nets. Along with his height, passing skills, and dribble, he can definitely dish out amazing passes to scorers in his team.

At first, it wasn't quite a big deal when he was in the Sixers but he began his drama and left the team hanging that's why Embiid doesn't respect him anymore. I think Simmons have been using his drama to cover up his mistakes that isn't that consistent anymore in the court and that he is having a hard time shooting, we can all see his stats from that time.

Yeah, the Nets shouldn't rely on Simmons as he have a history about that already, the kid will and can play good but he can't be trusted anymore in times of pressure.

It is getting tougher. With a lot of team added strength from the last trading market it will not be an easy ride for all their games. I watched them carefully last night and all I could see is lack of defensive plays.
Like what Richard Jefferson said, Frank Vogel is not a bad coach and he even earned a championship 2 years ago but this problem is down to the players if they can pull some efforts with every inch of a play.
There's always a chance but they must secure that place first before anything else. What if they drop to 11th rank, that's the end of everything. Their next three games will be Mavs, Clippers and then GSW. It may sink them down in the rankings.