THE Lakers“Friday’s victory wasn’t pretty, but it was necessary. While they made it as painfully difficult as it seemed possiblethe purple and gold came out of Memphis with a close victory after back-to-back losses.
All the talk through Friday about where the Lakers might land in the play-in standings included the assumption of a Lakers victory. Having settled their affairs, they could then look elsewhere in the league, where every result was favorable to them.
More importantly, the Pelicans gave the Lakers a big helping hand by beating the Warriors. In doing so, the Lakers now have some control over their own destiny. The other important match was that of the Kings and Suns, which went down to the wire. Ultimately, the Suns made a big late comeback and got a huge save in the final seconds to secure a one-point victory.
Because of all that, the Lakers came out Friday night as the eighth seed. Here is an overview of the ranking:
6. Pelicans 49-32
7. Suns 48-33
8. Lakers 46-35
9. Kings 45-36
10. Warriors 45-36
Now, the Lakers are simply one win away from finishing in eighth place and having two chances to win a game. We’ll look at all the scenarios in more detail later, but the calculation is now very simple:
Win and seal a spot in the 7-8 game.
Maybe it was the basketball gods giving offerings for losing Anthony Davis in multiple games to a slap in the face. For those who were super optimistic, the Suns’ victory effectively eliminated the possibility of a tie. The Lakers finish in seventh place in the play-in race.
The lead in the Western Conference is also a bit of a mess. The three Thunder, Wolves and Nuggets are tied at 56-25. With tiebreakers, OKC is the No. 1 seed, Minnesota is the No. 2 seed and Denver is the No. 3 seed.
This means that the Lakers cannot face the Nuggets in the first round. This also means that if they finish eighth and fall out of the first round, they will likely meet Denver.
However, it’s way too far away to worry about it. For now, the Lakers will be grateful they were able to take advantage of Sunday’s break and regain control of their destiny.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
