Standings Watch: Race To The Playoffs

The Clips might get into shenanigans for positioning

 

Good thing we have Beas, Russ and Reaves to carry AD and Lebron.

 

30 pts on 31 shots

 

To be fair, they load managed within the game, expect the same in the last game

 

I don’t think it was pathetic, I think they’re just gonna coast into the play in and get ready for the playoffs. That’s their mentality. We’ll see whether it’s right or wrong.

 

Agreed, we've completely lost our mojo since Lebron came back. We were playing hard on every play and became the #1 rated defense in the league. Lebron playing lazy (or hurt, I don't really care) with careless turnovers and zero defense has rubbed off on the rest of the team. I'm not sure if we can flip the switch and get back to how we were playing 4-5 games ago.

 

https://www.nba.com/lakers/news/western-conference-playoff-scenarios-2023

 

STANDINGS (UPCOMING OPPONENT)
4. Suns: 45-36 (LAC) - clinched postseason spot
5. Warriors: 43-38 (@POR)
6. Clippers: 42-38 (POR, @PHX)
7. Lakers: 42-39 (UTA)
8. Pelicans: 42-39 (@MIN)
9. Timberwolves: 40-40 (@SAS, NOP)
10. Thunder: 39-42 (MEM)

LAKERS OWN THE TIEBREAKER OVER:
Warriors, Pelicans, Thunder
More details from Lakers Reporter

OPPONENT OWNS TIEBREAKER OVER LAKERS:
Clippers, Timberwolves
More details from Lakers Reporter



LAKERS, WARRIORS, PELICANS THREE-WAY TIEBREAKER

1. LAL: 5-2 record against GSW and NOP
2. GSW: 3-5
3. NOP: 3-5

LAKERS, CLIPPERS AND PELICANS THREE-WAY TIEBREAKER

1. NOP: 4-2
2. LAC: 4-3
3. LAL: 3-5

LAKERS, CLIPPERS, WARRIORS, THREE-WAY TIEBREAKER

1. LAC: 6-2
2. LAL: 3-5
3. GSW: 3-5

LAKERS, CLIPPERS, WARRIORS, PELICANS FOUR-WAY TIEBREAKER

1. NOP: 6-5
2. LAC: 6-5
3. LAL: 6-6
4. GSW: 5-7

 

Credit goes to HP Basketball on Twitter ( assuming both Clippers and Wolves win on Saturday)

 

Another great post that pretty much says it how it is.

 

oh wait...so the minny/NO game carries weight? for some reason i thought the wolves couldn't change their fate. that affects things.

 

Agree here as well. Lebron has been terrible for team chemistry. One of those unstable molecules that destroys the teams DNA. The team went from dangerous and fun, to weak and hard to watch. I am also concerned about that switch. We will see.

 

They’re trying to win these games against tanking/resting teams while expending as little energy as possible. It’s not fun to watch, but I’m fine with it so long as they win.

 

i think we had to try to re-integrate lebron because without him we can't hope to make any sort of noise in the play-in/playoffs. just not enough talent left. i'm hoping he's just still getting his wind, etc., and when the chips are down he'll, you know, play defense sometimes.

and agree with sk. it's hard to get up for games against teams resting guys, etc. the last game against utah will be a challenge, too, imo. they'll want to finish their season on a high note, and as lebron said, we're just trying to get to the next game.

 

This. Bron is the most calculated player of all time regarding knowing how much energy is required to get desired result. While it was ugly, do we want him going hard against a Suns 3rd string cutting into his playoff energy pool for real games with extreme stakes?

The D against Kawhi showed me that defense is still there when it has to be. And then against the Suns, the 3 ball looked a lot better. Both are good proof on concepts that tell me more about going forward than the lazy game, bad stat line or some otherwise bad shooting from last night.