A better seed in next week’s Western Conference playoffs will be on the line Sunday night for the Los Angeles Lakers, who host the lowly Utah Jazz in both teams’ regular-season finale.
Los Angeles (52-29) will earn the No. 3 seed with a win paired with a Denver Nuggets’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs. A victory over Utah also will clinch the Lakers’ winningest season since going 57-25 in 2010-11 during Phil Jackson’s final season at the helm.
Regardless of whether the Lakers open as the No. 3 seed against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves or as the No. 4 seed against fifth-seeded Houston, head coach JJ Redick understands the challenge that awaits his team next week.
Luka Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer at 33.5 points per game, has not played since suffering a Grade 2 left hamstring strain on April 2. Austin Reaves (23.3 ppg) has not played since April 2, either, due to an injured oblique.
Both stars have uncertain timetables for the playoffs, leaving 41-year-old LeBron James with a massive burden to carry. Redick is transparent about the possible postseason scenarios.
“I’m sure everybody wants to play us,” Redick said. “Let’s get that out there, like, everybody wants to play us.”
Despite the ill-timed injuries, the Lakers have a strong chance to enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak. Los Angeles has breezed past the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns in consecutive lopsided wins.
On Friday, the Lakers steamrolled Phoenix, 101-73. In doing so, they clinched home-court advantage for the first round.
“Every year I’ve been in the NBA, the goal is to win a championship,” Redick said. “When you represent the Lakers and you coach for the Lakers, that’s their goal every year. Let’s not discredit what this group did for the regular season, regardless of what happens in the playoffs. To clinch home court and win 52, possibly 53 games and deal with the amount of adversity we had, it’s a credit to our players.”
James averages 21 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game while Deandre Ayton adds 12.3 points and eight boards per contest.
Meanwhile, Utah (22-59) finally has reached the finish line of a dreadful season. A loss Sunday would mark the second 60-loss season in franchise history, though not quite as despairing as last year’s 17-65 record.
As the Jazz continue to try to maximize their chances in the NBA Draft lottery, they have deployed some unfamiliar faces in the final stretch. Utah snapped a 10-game losing streak on Friday as John Konchar and Bez Mbeng recorded triple-doubles in a 147-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Head coach Will Hardy inserted only seven players into Friday’s game, which helped Konchar (11 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) and Mbeng (27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) become the first teammates in NBA history to produce triple-doubles off the bench.
“Could not be happier for both of those guys,” Hardy said. “They’re both tough, competitive, glue guys. For them to get statistical outputs like that is so cool because they deserve it with how unselfishly they go about their business.”
