The Los Angeles Lakers' hopes for the season have not been completely dashed, they are currently ranked 9th in the West, 4.5 wins behind the 8th place Los Angeles Clippers, three wins ahead of the 11th place San Antonio Spurs in the West, and only 10 games to play in the regular season, and in case of major surprises, they will lock in a play-off ticket.
It's safe to say that if it weren't for the play-off system, the Lakers would have now booked a flight out on vacation fishing, and ironically, this play-off system has been ridiculed by LeBron James, who did not expect to be a beneficiary of the play-off system this season. If the Lakers can win two games in a row in the playoffs, they will be able to reach the playoffs, when Anthony Davis should return to playoff games.
And although the Lakers' record this season is very poor, I believe that there is absolutely no team that wants to see LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the first round of the playoffs, because usually the first round of the playoffs is a relatively easy game for the top teams in the West, and facing these two famous superstars, the game process will not be easy.
While the 7th and 8th in the West are currently the Timberwolves and Clippers for the time being, there are still many variables, such as the Nuggets in the sixth place in the West only half a win ahead of the Timberwolves, while the Spurs and Blazers still have a good chance of hitting the top 10 in the West. But while there are many variables, what is the best situation for the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs?
First and foremost, if you want to occupy the best position in the playoffs, then winning 9th in the West is obviously the first step, because it will allow you to dry lakers to play a life-and-death battle with the 10th place in the West at home, which is significant for the Lakers, because the Lakers have a 20-17 record at home and a pitiful 11-24 away record. But which team would the Lakers prefer to be no. 10 in the West? For them, there is one option better than other teams.
The Lakers became 9th in the West, and the 10th most desirable in the West is the Spurs
The Los Angeles Lakers did lose to the San Antonio Spurs in their last game, but they were indeed the Lakers' favorite opponents in the playoffs. The Spurs, Pelicans and Blazers are three teams with the potential to reach the playoffs, but the Blazers are certainly the ones who don't want to win the most, and as they rebuild, they may send in league players in the next game so that they can lose more games in order to get a chance to participate in the lotto draw.
The Pelicans played better in the second half of the season, and while Zion Williamson shouldn't be back this year, they're still a team with more star power than the Spurs. And the Pelicans have a 1-0 record against the Lakers this season, and if Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum are in good shape, the Lakers could be in trouble.
The Spurs' roster is not very good, especially the loss of strong players such as Derek White in the middle of the season, although Dezhangtai Murray is a reliable player, but apart from him, the Spurs have no outstanding players, if you are the Lakers, there is really nothing to be afraid of when facing the Spurs.
The Los Angeles Lakers should want to face the Clippers in a second playoff
While the Clippers have maintained an advantage over the Lakers in the regular season in recent years, that shouldn't stop the Lakers from wanting to play against their city rivals, and as long as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can't come back before the playoffs, they have nothing to fear.
The Timberwolves played very well in the second half of the season, looking much better than the Clippers who lacked Twin Stars, and more importantly, the Lakers suffered when facing the Timberwolves in the regular season, only achieving a record of 1 win and 3 losses, and all 3 losses were big losses. In contrast, while the Clippers have won the Lakers seven times in a row in the regular season, the playoffs are another type of game, and the Lakers can only choose the lesser of two evils.
If the Lakers' final second playoff opponent is the Clippers, the Lakers will also have another advantage, and the Clippers will be the home team for this potential game after the road game against the Timberwolves. That means the Clippers will have to return to Los Angeles from the home of one of the farthest teams in the West, while the Lakers won the 10th place in the West in the first game of the playoffs, but they have always been in Los Angeles. So while it's going to be a home game for the Clippers, it's actually more like the Lakers' home stadium, where the Lakers will be able to lie in their beds and wait for the Clippers to come back, and as we mentioned before, I don't know if it's because the team is too old, the Lakers are doing much better at home than on the road.