LeBron not worried about playoffs: You 'make it or you don't'

LeBron James doesn't sound the least bit concerned about the possibility his Los Angeles Lakers fail to qualify for the playoffs in his first year with the team.

"You either make it or you don't make it," James said following the Lakers' 117-113 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, according to Silver Screen and Roll's Harrison Faigen. "That's when you worry about it."

The four-time Most Valuable Player registered his second triple-double in the last three games on Tuesday, finishing with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and a season-high 16 assists on 8-of-20 shooting in 43 minutes of action.

His efforts weren't enough to lift his squad to victory, though, as the Lakers dropped their second straight game to bring their overall record to 28-29 heading into the All-Star break. It's the latest a LeBron-led team has been below the .500 mark since his rookie campaign.

"You've got to decompress and get away from the game for a little bit," James added. "Get fresh, get your mind right, get your body right and come back with the notion that we're going to make the playoffs."

James has been a mainstay of the postseason for the better part of his legendary career, coming out of the Eastern Conference to advance to the Finals in each of the last eight years with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. Now, in the West, his Lakers are 2 1/2 games back of the eighth seed in a crowded field with 25 games remaining.