As it currently stands, the Los Angeles Lakers are the seventh seed in the Western Conference and will be forced to play in the newly-implemented play-in games for the seventh and eighth seed in the NBA Playoffs.
Assuming they stay as the seventh seed, the Lakers would essentially play in a double-elimination tournament. The Lakers would play the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors with the winner being named the seventh seed. The loser has to go on and play the winner of the ninth and tenth seed to earn the eighth seed.
There is a reality in which the Lakers play two ugly games and miss the playoffs altogether, as unlikely as that sounds.
The team could climb out of the seventh seed but there is not much time remaining. The Lakers are only one game back of the sixth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers but do not own the tiebreaker, essentially making it a two-game cushion for Portland.
It is tough to make up two games when both teams only have four games remaining. Thus, the play-in might end up being the reality.
This could be a blessing in disguise for the Los Angeles Lakers.
While it might seem less than ideal, if we look at the glass-half-full, it is easy to see the positives of the Los Angeles Lakers playing in the play-in games for the seventh and eighth seed rather than climbing out of the bottom two into the sixth seed.
Part of the thinking has to do with the current standings and any potential movement could change the line of thinking. However, with the Phoenix Suns two games back of the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers three games back of them, it is safe to say that the top two teams are at least locked in.
Let’s get into the reasons why this could be a blessing in disguise for the Los Angeles Lakers.
1. The first-round matchup is easier for the Los Angeles Lakers as a seventh/eighth seed
It might not make sense on paper, but it would actually be easier for the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs if they have to take on the Utah Jazz or Phoenix Suns. As we saw Sunday night against the Suns, the Lakers matchup really well with Phoenix, especially when healthy.
Phoenix has been great thus far but they have virtually no playoff experience outside of Chris Paul and Jae Crowder and it is a franchise that has not won a playoff series in a decade. Plus, Phoenix’s frontcourt matches up horrendously against a healthy Lakers team. This is the nightmare matchup that Phoenix does not want in round one.
Utah is a tougher challenge but they also are a team that the Lakers can get past. Not only do the Lakers have more starpower than Utah, but Anthony Davis has torched Rudy Gobert in the past and the role players in Utah are not great defensively.
We see it every year in the playoffs. A really good regular season team with great depth does not have quite the same impact when the game slows down and the defensive flaws are exposed. The Lakers would expose the defense of Jordan Clarkson, Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the backcourt.
The alternative would likely be the Los Angeles Clippers in round one, which is the worst-case scenario for the Lakers. The Lakers are likely going to have to play the Clippers anyway but it would benefit the Lakers to get one full playoff round under their belt to get into a rhythm than getting thrown into the fire against the Clippers.
I know, it is a bad thing to say something positive about the Clippers on a Lakers site but if it isn’t the Lakers coming out of the West then it will probably be the Clippers, Playoff P aside.
2. This gives the Los Angeles Lakers an extra game (or two!) to get right
The Los Angeles Lakers are running out of time. If it was an 82-game season then I would feel better about their chances in the NBA Playoffs, but with only four games remaining, Laker fans have to be worried about the team.
It is not even the talent of the team that is worrisome. When healthy, the Lakers are the best team in the West and it is not close. The problem is that this team, particularly LeBron James, is not healthy. It is a positive sign to see Anthony Davis finally getting in a groove but LeBron’s ankle is a truly worrying sign.
Davis’ return is the perfect example of why the Lakers need more games. He was not the same AD right out of the gate and it took a few games for him to get back into the groove and really get going. Those games are important to not only get up to speed, but to get comfortable playing with the new players in LA as well.
LeBron James needs the same thing. LeBron is targeting a return against the New York Knicks but it could end up being against the Houston Rockets. Regardless, at most, LeBron has four more regular-season games to get up to speed.
The extra play-in game (or two) can really help the Lakers. Sure, their season is on the line, but it gives LeBron more minutes, more court time with his teammates to get ramped up for the long, grueling playoff series.
Because let’s be honest: if the Lakers lose both play-in games then they weren’t going to make a run for the title anyway. If they lose both play-in games then they likely would have lost the first two games against the Clippers if they were the sixth seed and probably would not have dug out of that.
In a sense, it allows the team to warm up while also getting the disappointment over with if they are not truly ready.
It would be a shame if the Los Angeles Lakers don’t at least make a run at the NBA Championship but it shows that repeating in sports is such a hard thing to do.