With the Lakers winning tonight and the Kings + Warriors losing… LAKERS ARE OFFICIALLY THE 8TH SEED.
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The Lakers’ win on Friday wasn’t pretty, but it was mandatory. While they made it as annoyingly difficult as seemingly possible, the purple and gold walked out of Memphis with a narrow victory after back-to-back losses.
All of the discussions of where the Lakers could land in the play-in standings leading up to Friday included the assumption of a win by the Lakers. After they took care of business, they could then look elsewhere around the league, where every result went their way.
Most importantly, the Pelicans offered a big helping hand to the Lakers by beating the Warriors. In doing so, the Lakers now have some control of their own destiny. The other important game was the Kings and Suns, which came down to the wire. Ultimately, the Suns made a big late comeback and got a huge stop in the final seconds to secure a one-point win.
Because of all of that, the Lakers exited Friday night as the eighth seed. Here’s a look at the standings:
6. Pelicans 49-32
7. Suns 48-33
8. Lakers 46-35
9. Kings 45-36
10. Warriors 45-36
Now, the Lakers simply are a win away from finishing in the eighth spot and having two chances to win one game. We’ll have a more detailed look at all the scenarios at a later point, but the math is very simple now:
Win and seal a spot in the 7-8 game.
Perhaps this was the basketball Gods offering some offerings for losing Anthony Davis in multiple games due to being smacked in the face. For those who were super optimistic, the Suns’ win did eliminate the possibility of the Lakers finishing in the No. 7 seed in the play-in race.
The top of the Western Conference is a bit of a mess, too. All three of the Thunder, Wolves and Nuggets are tied at 56-25. With the tiebreakers, OKC is the No. 1 seed, Minnesota is the No. 2 seed and Denver is the No. 3 seed.
This does mean the Lakers can’t play the Nuggets in the first round. It also means that, if they do finish eighth and make it out of the first round, they will likely meet Denver.
That, though, is way, way too far down the line to worry about. For now, the Lakers will be thankful for having the breaks go their way on Sunday and gaining back control of their destiny.
