Once again, the Western Conference playoff race is looking to be a tight one, and the Lakers are right in the thick of it. With 21 games left to play, they sit at the No. 6 seed, but just a game and a half from the third spot. However, they are also just two games in front of the play-in Phoenix Suns.
With home-court advantage or a play-in position, both realistic possibilities for Los Angeles, the way playoff seeding could be decided might very well come down to a tiebreaker situation.
Here is how
seeding is decided in the event that two teams have an identical record at the end of the regular season, via NBA.com
TIEBREAKER BASIS FOR TWO-WAY TIES:
- (-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
- (1) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
- (2) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
- (3) Division won-lost percentage for teams in the same division
- (4) Conference won-lost percentage
- (5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff eligible teams, own conference
- (6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff eligible teams, other conference
- (7) Net Points, all games
With head-to-head being the first decider, let’s take a look at the tiebreaker situation between the Lakers and all teams they are currently competing with for a playoff spot.
Houston Rockets
The Lakers lost to the Rockets on Christmas Day, which is currently the only matchup the two teams have had. That’ll change later this month when LA heads to Houston for a pair of games. If the Lakers win both contests, they’ll own the tiebreaker.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Since the Lakers have beaten the Wolves twice and have just one game left against them, they have the season series secured. It’d be ideal to still beat Minnesota on Mar. 10, since it’ll help them in the standings race, but they have the advantage if they end up with the same record at the end of the year.
Denver Nuggets
Under Lakers head coach JJ Redick, the Lakers have had success against the Nuggets. Last year, they split the season series 2-2, and this year, they’ve beaten Denver the only time they’ve played.
The Lakers have two games left against the Nuggets, so they need one more victory to gain the advantage over their Western Conference foe.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns already own the tiebreaker over the Lakers since they’ve won three of the four games they’ve played against them, and only one matchup remains.
Luckily, the Lakers are a couple of games ahead of the Suns in the standings. So, they’d better make sure they stay in front of Phoenix because they have the edge in a tiebreaker scenario.
Golden State Warriors
Considering that the Lakers are six games ahead of the Warriors and that Golden State is currently playing without Steph Curry, it’s very unlikely these teams will have the same record when it’s all said and done.
Currently, LA is ahead 2-1 in the season series, but they need to win the final matchup they have against the Warriors on Apr. 9 or else they’ll be even in head-to-head matchups on the year.
Even if LA loses this upcoming game, the Warriors would have to have a better record in the Pacific Division, since that’s the next tiebreaker. Currently, the Golden State is 6-6 in the division, and the Lakers are 8-7, so LA has that edge for now.
Overall, the Lakers are in a good position in most tiebreaking situations. They have the advantage over the Wolves and can still win the tiebreakers over the Warriors, Nuggets and Rockets.
The only team they have lost the season series to already is the Suns, and they are a couple of games ahead of them in the standings.
If the Lakers win their upcoming games against these opponents, then they’ll be in control of their destiny and can be a top seed in the West. This late into the season, that’s the exact situation teams want to be in.
Now, it’s up to the purple and gold to go out there and execute and prove that they are, in fact, better than these teams.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
