Los Angeles Lakers: Biggest reason why LA needs games before playoffs

The Los Angeles Lakers will eventually be back in action at Disney World.

The NBA’s plan is to continue the 2019-2020 season in Disney World, likely starting in July. The full details of how the league will handle the resumption are unclear, but one thing is clear: the Los Angeles Lakers should be vying for a handful of regular-season games before the playoffs.

There have been multiple ideas suggested about how the league should resume. Some include jumping straight into the playoffs with 1-16 seeding, others include a World Cup-style first round of playoffs, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggesting that the league could add four extra playoff teams in both conferences.

RELATED: We take a crack at coming up with a plan to resume the regular season

There are benefits of playing some regular-season games, even if the league can only get to 70. First is monetary reasons, as the ratings would be through the roof and the league has television contracts to fulfill.

The other reason is for the players to get back in game shape. While they undoubtedly will be given time to practice and get ready for game action, actually playing in games before the playoffs after four months without games will freshen everyone up.

It is not a guarantee that they play the regular-season games though, as the league is working against the clock. For comparison’s sake, the NHL officially ended its regular season and will return with a 24-team playoff format.

The Los Angeles Lakers have their own reasons to play regular-season games

Outside of the obvious advantages of getting reps in before the playoffs, which is beneficial to every single team, the Los Angeles Lakers have one very important reason to want regular-season games before jumping into the playoffs.

It is because the Lakers are in a situation that not many teams are in.

The Lakers have two new faces to the roster, Markieff Morris and Dion Waiters, that either only played a handful of games (Morris) or did not play at all (Waiters) before the season was suspended.

Both guys are very talented and could be big assets to the Lakers in a playoff series. The problem is that Frank Vogel is not going to want to experiment with them in the playoff rotation in a big role without some backing beforehand. While they will still be used in some capacity, the team cannot risk it not working when the lights are the brightest.

However, getting a handful of games, even if it is only 5-7, allows Vogel to test Waiters and Morris in so many different lineup combinations to see what works best. Both should get ample playing time in this period.

Not only are these two potential game-changers in the playoffs, but they could be long-term options for the Lakers. Morris is a much better third forward option than Kyle Kuzma if the Lakers decide to trade Kuzma in the offseason and Waiters could be that second ball-handler that the team has wanted Rajon Rondo to be.

He certainly is a better fit in that role, as he can handle the ball with LeBron James off the court and then be just fine in taking an off-ball role when he shares the court with James.

Practice can only show you so much and to get the most out of Waiters and Morris, the Los Angeles Lakers need to see them in some regular-season action when the stakes are not as high.