The Los Angeles Lakers are in a tough spot heading into the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament. They finished in eighth place in the Western Conference, which means they have to go on the road to face off against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Whoever loses that game will host the winner of the 9/10 game between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. However, the reward for winning the first Play-In Game between the Pelicans and Lakers is a first-round matchup with the defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets.
Denver has proven to be the worst matchup for Los Angeles in the Western Conference. The Nuggets swept the Lakers in last year’s Western Conference Finals and 0-3 against them in the 2023-24 regular season.
That has led to one analyst revealing a bold plan that he would use for the Lakers during the NBA Play-In Tournament. During a segment of Get Up on ESPN, Mike Greenberg made a case that the Lakers should tank, resting LeBron James and Anthony Davis against the Pelicans to try and earn the No. 8 seed instead of the No. 7 seed.
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On the surface, that is a strategy that makes some sense. You want the path of least resistance to the NBA Finals and for the Lakers, that path does not include the Nuggets. Losing against the Pelicans, who would then have the No. 7 seed, would be seen as a win in the eyes of many people.
But, that is a huge risk the Lakers would be taking. To win the NBA Finals, you have to be in the postseason. Without a victory in the NBA Play-In Tournament, Los Angeles would not make the final field of 16.
Purposely losing and playing in a single-elimination game would be extremely risky. They would get a home game against the Kings or Warriors to play for the No. 8 seed, but they didn’t fare any better in those matchups during the regular season.
The Kings actually swept the Lakers, winning all four matchups. Golden State found plenty of success as well, going 3-1 with their only loss coming in a double-overtime marathon on January 27th by one point.
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