After Rout vs. Zion, Pelicans, NBA fans hyped LeBron James and the Lakers as the scary eight seed.
The Los Angeles Lakers need just one victory to qualify for the playoffs.
After defeating the Pels 124-108 on Sunday, the club secured the eighth overall seed in the West and a Play-In Tournament berth against the New Orleans Pelicans.
LeBron James had a 28-point, 17-assist, 11-rebound triple-double in the win to cap off the regular season in style. After Anthony Davis departed the game in the fourth quarter, plainly in agony and with a limp, there will be worries. If he’s not healthy, it severely hurts the team’s chances of making the playoffs.
But the Lakers might be a very scary team if he’s healthy and playing well. Social media users undoubtedly hold the following beliefs:
This is why the victory on Sunday meant so much. With the win, the Lakers’ postseason chances are decreased to one Play-In game, with another opportunity to win if they lose to the Pelicans on Tuesday. If they had lost, they might have dropped to the No. 9 or 10 seed, where they would have needed to win two straight games in order to gain a spot.
The risƘ of winning the first Play-In game is that the defending NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, who are ranked second, would be waiting for you in the opening round of the playoffs. Since the end of the previous season, the Lakers have suffered eight straight losses to the Nuggets.
If the Pelicans are not defeated on Tuesday, there’s a chance that the Golden State Warriors or the Sacramento Kings will be ready for business in the second Play-In Tournament match. This season, the Lakers are 1-3 against the Dubs and 0-4 against Sacramento.
Therefore, the Lakers would run the risƘ of missing out on the postseason entirely in a game against the Kings or Warriors, even if a first-round matchup against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder would be preferable to another battlҽ with the Nuggets.
At this stage of the season, every squad is up against challenging opponents and matchups. The Lakers, who have won 11 of their last 14 games, are on a roll and won’t give up easy points in a Play-In Tournament match. On Tuesday, they’ll play the Pels for keeps once more.
