In Wednesday’s finale of the regular season, the Lakers remained in the NBA play-in tournament after the Trailblazers clinched a playoff spot and the No. 6 seed with a 132-116 win over the Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James and a now semi-healthy Lakers squad will face off against this year’s NBA scoring champion, Stephen Curry, and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
After facing off in the NBA Finals for four straight years, LeBron James and Stephen Curry will headline one of the most anticipated play-in matchups since the tournament was implemented last year.
It’s odd seeing the Lakers in this position given the fact that just last year they clinched the No. 1 seed in the West and won the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. The difference between this Lakers team from last year’s team has been the injuries throughout the season.
In mid-February, the Lakers held a 21-7 record until Anthony Davis suffered a leg injury against Denver that sidelined him for 30 games. In the following few weeks, LeBron went down with an ankle injury which essentially derailed the Lakers into the play-in spot they’re in now.
The Warriors were dealt a similar hand with Klay Thompson being sidelined for the entire year with a torn Achilles just after recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals. The Warriors’ second overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, James Wiseman, also went down with a season-ending meniscus injury in mid-April.
Up until this point, Curry has carried this Warriors team to the No. 8 seed and a play-in berth while being argued as the potential MVP for this year. Curry finished the season averaging 31.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists on over 40 percent shooting from both the field and three-point range.
Whoever wins the matchup between the Lakers and Warriors will take the No. 7 seed position and face the Suns in the playoffs. The loser will then face the winner of the Grizzlies and Spurs matchup for the No. 8 seed and will take on the Jazz.
It’s likely both the Warriors and Lakers will still retain their top-8 seed and make the playoffs throughout the play-in given the talent on their teams but the anticipation for the matchup is noteworthy.
If both teams win one of the possible two games they play in the tournament, then the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs will be one for the ages.
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