The Los Angeles Lakers are in a dilemma.
The Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-108 on Sunday (Korea Standard Time), ranking eighth in the Western Conference. New Orleans ranked seventh.
At the game, LeBron James had 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 17 assists to lead his team to a triple-double. Anthony Davis also contributed with 30 points and 11 rebounds.
Pelicans’ Zion Williamson was sluggish with 12 points.
The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors also won the game on the same day, with the Kings ranking ninth and the Warriors ranking 10th.
The Oklahoma City Thunder ranked first in the regular league and the Denver Nuggets ranked second.
The Lakers and Pelicans will face off again in a play-in tournament. The winning team in this tournament will have a first-round playoff series against the second-seeded Denver Nuggets as the seventh seed. The losing team will compete with the winner of the Sacramento Kings versus the Golden State Warriors for the eighth seed.
The problem is that if the Lakers beat the Pelicans, they will meet the Nuggets. The Lakers lost all four games to the Nuggets in the Conference finals series last season. They also lost all three games in the regular season. Including last season’s regular season, they lost eight consecutive games.
Therefore, the Lakers are likely to lose to the Nuggets again in the first round of the PO.
However, if the Lakers lose to the Pelicans and win the Kings vs. Warriors match, they will have the first round of PO with the No. 8 seed Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers are 3-1 ahead of OKC in the regular season this season.
For the Lakers, it looks better to meet a decent OKC.
But there’s no guarantee that the Lakers will win over the Kings or Warriors. It’s a relief if you win, but if you lose, you can’t even get on the PO stage and have to pack.
The Pelicans must also feel uncomfortable meeting the Champ Nuggets last season. They could meet the Kings or the Warriors if they intentionally lose to the Lakers.
If the Lakers and Pelicans want to clash with the Kings or Warriors to meet with OKC, the game between the two teams on the 17th may produce a rare “losing comedy.”
Attention is focusing on what the Lakers will decide.
BY: 토토