Exploring three advantages to the Los Angeles Lakers finishing as a Play-In Tournament team in the Western Conference.
With the push toward the postseason officially here, with most NBA teams having 25 regular season games or less before the end of the regular season, it's only a matter of time before realistic projections for the playoffs begin. For many teams, it's about finishing as the highest potential seed in an attempt to put themselves in the best position to make a deep run in the postseason.
For others, it's about simply making the playoffs. For the Los Angeles Lakers, who admittedly have been one of the more underwhelming teams this season in the Western Conference this year, it may be in their best interest to head into the playoffs as one of the bottom two seeds in the bracket. Before you freak out, this is an article where we'll explain why. But, first, how far could the Lakers seemingly rise in the West?
How far can the Los Angeles Lakers realistically rise in the West standings?
Right now, the Lakers are 9th in the Western Conference standings and three games back of the 7th seed. With less than 25 games remaining in the regular season, the Lakers could probably make up three games between now and the end of the season if they get hot, but it's hard to envision them making much more ground than that. Especially considering this team has been haunted by inconsistency this year.
But even as the Lakers appear to be destined for a Play-In Tournament spot, we explore three reasons why it may work to their advantage heading into the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers can attempt to handpick their first-round opponent
One potential bright side to the Los Angeles Lakers finishing as a Play-In Tournament team in the Western Conference is the fact that they would essentially be able to handpick their first-round opponent. Of course, they'd have to play their way into doing so and would have to finish as either the 7th or 8th seed to properly do so, but that option would be on the table as a Play-In team for the Lakers.
If Los Angeles favors one matchup over another, that could be on the table for the team. Even though the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder have consistently been two of the best teams in the Western Conference all season long, I'd still imagine those are the two "favorites" that many teams would rather see over the likes of the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers in a possible first-round matchup.
If the Lakers were to finish as a top 2 team in the Play-In Tournament, the Lakers would basically be able to pick, for better or worse, who they would want to play in a first-round playoff matchup.
The Los Angeles Lakers can avoid the most complete team in the Western Conference
Looking at the landscape of the Western Conference, navigating through this side of the playoff bracket won't be easy. However, even with how competitive the West is, there's probably only one team that would be considered a complete team from top to bottom. And that's the Denver Nuggets. For as good as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder have been this season, both of them lack proper playoff experience and don't have as much star power as even the Lakers have.
The Nuggets have it all - from talent to depth to experience. The only other team that you can consider close to that is the LA Clippers. But even then, they still must prove they can make a deep run and avoid the injury bug once the postseason arrives. Assuming the Nuggets enter the playoffs as the third seed, which is looking more and more like a real possibility, the Lakers would successfully avoid the most complete team in the conference by entering as the 7th or 8th seed. In fact, they'd be able to avoid the Nuggets until the conference finals.
If the Lakers are going to have any shot at making a deep playoff, this may be their best path to achieving that.
The Los Angeles Lakers would be playing with virtually zero pressure
Entering the playoffs as the 7th or 8th seed via the Play-In Tournament is not necessarily where any team in the league wants to be, especially if they have any hopes of making a deep playoff run. However, the Miami Heat last season kind of changed that whole mentality. This is not to say that 8th seeds are going to be expected to make deep playoff runs after what the Heat did, but it did prove that it can be done.
And that's something the Lakers could rally around. A final advantage that the Lakers would have entering the playoffs as one of the final two playoff seeds in the West is the fact that they'd be playing with virtually zero pressure to win.
Even in a possible first-round series against a more inexperienced team, I still don't believe the Lakers would be favored against the Minnesota Timberwolves or even the Oklahoma City Thunder. With how inconsistent the Lakers have been this season, I can't imagine that'd be the case.
That's where this team excels, as an underdog. We saw it last season in which the Lakers made a somewhat unlikely run to the conference finals as the 7th seed and it wouldn't be surprising if they managed to do something similar this year if the bracket falls favorably for them.