Lakers are facing a steep mountain to climb

OAKLAND — If the Lakers really need 45 or 46 victories to reach the playoffs, they better hurry up and win.

Those are the magic numbers in Mike D’Antoni’s mind, the Lakers coach revealed Friday, and it won’t be easy to get there.

The Lakers (13-13) still haven’t played Miami or Indiana, seemingly the only teams worth anything in the Eastern Conference, and they have three games each against West front-runners San Antonio, Oklahoma City, the Clippers and Houston. Their only favorable schedule twist so far is only two more games against surprisingly strong Portland.

Tough schedule remaining. Very average record. Tons of backcourt injuries. Not a good combination heading into their game Saturday at Golden State, which ended too late for this edition.

The Lakers and Houston were the final two West teams to reach the playoffs last season, both finishing 45-37, but “it’s got to be at least that” many victories this season, D’Antoni said, later citing the increasingly competitive nature of the West.

Ten West teams were .500 or better before Saturday. Miami, Indiana and Atlanta were the only East teams above .500.

“I don’t want to be too simple but you’ve got to win games,” D’Antoni said. “We’ve got to get our point guards back, get Kobe [Bryant] back in a month or whatever and then go from there.”

Shooting guard Xavier Henry is the fifth Laker to get significant time at point guard this season. Jordan Farmar is expected to return next week but Bryant, Steve Blake and Steve Nash are out at least four more weeks. Bryant won’t be back until February.

Pau Gasol sat out Saturday’s game because of an upper respiratory infection. He was coming off his best game of the season, a 21-point, 13-rebound, eight-assist effort in the Lakers’ 104-91 victory over Minnesota on Friday.

Bryant and Nash weren’t even on the Lakers’ two-game trip that ends Monday in Phoenix. Gasol couldn’t leave his San Francisco hotel room Saturday. It has been that kind of season for the Lakers.

“Hopefully, we’ll get some luck,” D’Antoni said. “We’re on the other side of the coin right now. We’re going to have to start treading a little bit above .500 for a while.”

The Lakers aren’t the only West team feeling the playoff pinch in December.

Golden State (14-13) hasn’t acted like a playoff team this season, losing at home Thursday to San Antonio even though the Spurs played without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. The Warriors’ playoff hopes soared after acquiring Andre Iguodala during the off-season, but they were ninth in the West before Saturday.

“We will not panic as a basketball team,” Coach Mark Jackson said. “The Western Conference is tough and there are a lot of teams that are close to us, but we’ll be just fine.”

When will it be time to panic?

“I’ll let you know. Now is not the time,” Jackson said. “If that was the case, then a bunch of teams should panic.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter: @Mike_Bresnahan