if we win our final 3 games, we will be the 7 seed at the lowest. It's not mathematically guaranteed, but let's look at the 3 teams we're chasing: Phoenix: home and home against the Clippers @ Sac @ Minny I have a hard time buying them doing better than 2-2 New Orleans: @ POR @ SAC @ GSW vs. LAL Zero reason to believe they won't lose at least 1 game before facing us. Sacramento: @ OKC vs. NO vs. Phoenix vs. POR Would need them to lose twice to surpass. Definitely possible, but an easier path for them finishing the season at home. No arguing that we gave away games earlier in the season that should have been won, but going into this weekend I expected to split the b2b before Lebron got sick. If we lose any of these final games, then everything above is irrelevant and we're in the 9/10 spot. But if we take care of business, I don't see a world where we finish lower than 7th and I could easily them moving up to 6.
Kawhi isn't playing tomorrow.Phoeniz will sweep clips series and then who knows is game at Minnesota decides anything.
New Orleans was missing Ingram and Valanciunas and a healthy Phoenix squad still lost at home. Maybe Phoenix does what they need to do, but the current body of work does not inspire confidence in them to do so. And maybe Minny rests guys at the end, but for a team with no real playoff experience and 1 game separating the #1 and #3 seeds, they might want HCA for the later rounds.
We deserve 10th. And it will be the death of fans the world over if by any chance the Lakers make another deep run from the 10 spot. "Who cares about the regular season! The seeding doesn't matter! Just get in!" Very dangerous line of thinking that will end in misery 99/100
if we take care of business is doing a lot of work here, though. i said we need to beat gs twice because if we don't beat them the first time, we're likely locked into to playing them (maybe on the road) for the play-in. it's quite possible that NO will be fighting for their play-in lives at home that last game of the season, too. 1-2 is as likely as 3-0, and 2-1 is the most likely, which would put is in the 9/10 with gs, barring weirdness elsewhere, i think.
Tomorrow is biggest game of the season Minnesota @ Denver.Who wins will win West and basically could be avoiding Lakers before WCF if they can repeat last year's magic run
Per Cranjis: Finish 3-0 = around a 30/40/25 split between 6th/7th/8th Finish 2-1 = coin flip between 8th and 9th with a small chance of 7th Finish 1-2 = coin flip between 9th and 10th with a small chance of 8th Finish 0-3 = almost certainly the 10 seed 9 years ago the Spurs, like us, had to play @New Orleans in the last game of the regular season. Pelicans needed to win to make the playoffs as the 8 seed. If the Spurs had won, they would've been the 2 seed and probably made it to the WCF with an outside chance to beat that first Warriors title team that was still a little green, and maybe even repeat as champions against that depleted Cavs team in the Finals. But they lost and dropped to the 6 seed and lost to the Clippers in the first round in that insane series. I have a feeling that @New Orleans is going to turn into a sliding doors moment for us too, either we win and put ourselves in position to make a real run in the playoffs, or lose and get bounced in the play in/vs. Denver in the first round.
Everybody is talking GSW- Lakers 2 games today and play-in ,but it's going to be Pelicans instead. And in case Lakers losing still could've get a chance to end the GSW dynasty for good
Here's what the Lakers would need to happen to pass any one of the three teams ahead of them, whether they go 3-0, 2-1 or 1-2: IF: LAL 3-0 THEN: SAC 2-2; NOP 2-2; PHX 2-2; LAL 2-1 SAC 1-3; NOP 1-3; PHX 1-3; LAL 1-2 SAC 0-4; NOP 0-4; PHX 0-4 Even though the Kings are one game behind the Suns and Pelicans, they're essentially even from a Lakers standpoint, since the Lakers own the tiebreaker over the Suns (3-2) and lead NOP 2-1 (with the season finale to decide that one), but not over Sacramento (0-4). The Lakers also need a win against Golden State to lock themselves into a higher seed than the Warriors Where things get even more complicated is in potential 3-game tie scenarios. In a 3-way tie, the collective head-to-head results of the three teams involved decide it, if there's no Division leader involved (and there wouldn't be in any of these cases). From a Lakers standpoint, any such scenario involving Sacramento is where they'd falter, due to these H2H records: LAL vs. Kings: 0-4 LAL vs. Suns: 3-2 LAL vs. Pelicans: 2-1 (April 14 pending) LAL vs. Warriors: 1-2 (pending April 9 result) D'Angelo Russell So, if the Lakers wind up in a 3-way tie with the Kings and Suns, L.A.'s record would be 3-6. Since the Suns and Kings split their season series 2-2, the Kings would be 6-2, and the Suns 4-5. As such, LAL would finish third, and have to settle for the worst of the three spots.
James Harden is apparently been downgraded to questionable ahead of the Suns game...unbelievable that the Clippers are gonna be without both Harden and Kawhi in a b2b against the Suns where we need them to win at least ONE game!!!
nobody is going to help us in any way, shape, or form. we have to win them all or play gs for the right to play on the road for the right to play on the road against denver.
