Potential play-in opponent: Los Angeles Lakers
A year ago, even a month ago, this would sound insane. But the Lakers represent the best chance of the Dubs winning a 7-8 game. A few days ago our own Tony Pesta broke down why the Lakers would be a nightmare matchup, but lots has changed since.
Nobody fits the description of “down bad” at the moment quite like the Lakers. A huge loss against Portland on Friday was a massive blow to their chance of avoiding the play-in. A strong team built on the foundation of smart defense and offense finds their pillars being eroded at the worst possible time.
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LeBron James missed time with an ankle injury, returned, and immediately left again. By his own admission, he won’t be 100 percent anytime soon.
Anthony Davis is on a first-name basis with every person on the training staff and practically lives on the physician’s table, and just on Thursday night tweaked his back at halftime of a cross-town blowout. Dennis Schröder is out due to health and safety protocols, and even if he makes it back in the allotted two weeks may not be able to suit up before the actual play-in game.
Suffice to say a team that has struggled to get its three best players on the court is going through a rough patch. Even with Davis on the floor, they are longshots against most playoff teams at the moment.
There’s no question at the moment that James and Davis will be on the floor come playoff time, play-in or not. But we can safely rule out this Lakers team being at full health or having any legitimate momentum going into that game.
The fact still remains the Lakers have outplayed the Warriors every time they matched up this season.
But if there was ever a time to take a shot at the King, it’s now. And despite the King’s decree about the legitimacy of the play-in, they may be the odds-on favorite for the 7 seed at the moment.