Every game right now is huge when it comes to postseason implications, and the Los Angeles Lakers are no doubt keeping a pulse on all the moving parts in the Western Conference. LA will almost certainly be competing in the Play-In for the right to go to the playoffs.
Wednesday night featured yet another massive game between two of the heavyweights in the West. Minnesota traveled to Denver and lost a hard-fought contest to the defending champs, which all but guaranteed the Nuggets will end up with the top seed for the playoffs.
For the Timberwolves or the Thunder to steal the one seed back from Denver, the Nuggets will have to lose to either the Spurs or the Grizzlies in their final two games, with both scenarios being extremely unlikely. This scenario unfolding created an impossibly difficult scenario for the Lakers, as they will now be competing for the right to take on Denver.
The Lakers will now be fighting to secure a matchup with the Nuggets
There is a high probability that LA could finish as the ninth or tenth seed for the Play-In, meaning that they would be required to win two consecutive games to sneak into the playoffs as the eight seed. We already know that being in this position is far more difficult than trying to make it into the playoffs as a seven or eight seed, being that winning two straight all-or-nothing games is of course more challenging than winning just one.
But now the Lakers will be competing for the grand prize of taking on their worst possible matchup, the same team that swept them in last year's Western Conference Finals. If the Timberwolves had beaten the Nuggets and come that much closer to securing the one seed themselves, the Lakers would have been able to chase the eight seed with a little bit more comfort.
Instead, LA will have to rely on others in front of them losing in hopes of having a chance at the six or seven seed. With that reality looking increasingly unlikely, the Lakers' chances of making another deep postseason run are dwindling by the day.