Three days before the end of the regular season, we can already see a little more clearly, in the East as in the West. But the West remains a bit foggier because places 5 to 9 are not yet locked. Among the teams concerned, the Lakers, current seventh, likely to move up the rankings, without knowing in which direction.
We are almost there. Three more nights of NBA and the regular season will have revealed all its secrets. Among those? The position of the Lakers in this fierce fight from fifth to ninth place. Darvin Ham said post trade deadline, the Angelinos are aiming for the Top 6. A goal that seemed crazy and which is now possible. To guarantee a spot in the Playoffs, their main competitor is Golden State. Infographic, and we’re talking just below:
???? How can the Lakers finish 6th?
Will they have to go through the Playin Tournament?
Here are the scenarios to follow! pic.twitter.com/3eeUPztIfv— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) April 7, 2023
First indication, the Lakers have no room for error if they wish to automatically play the Playoffs. At the same time, the Warriors must lose at least one of their two remaining games for Los Angeles to overtake them. However, the Kings, opponents of the defending champions next night, have put all their executives to rest to maximize the chances of their historic rivals falling out. Golden State will only have to finish the job against Portland to secure its spot.
The Lakers must focus on the Suns and the Jazz. We may finally have a confrontation between LeBron James and Kevin Durant for an explosive match. Then, on April 9, LA ends without pressure against a team that no longer plays anything and should logically lose.
To make it short? The calculations are very simple but the truth depends above all on the performance of the Warriors who will have two simple games on paper to play. If we wanted to make a prediction? We would trust the defending champion and we would tell the Lakers to watch out for the Pelicans and Wolves, who are pushing behind.