With just two days to go in the NBA regular season, the Western Conference is in a state of flux as these final games set the standings once and for all. And while many fans and experts will be carefully watching the scores to track the matchups, LeBron James says he wants no part of things he cannot control.
“Of course, the seeds matter, every game matters,” said James on whether seeding matters. “But wherever you fall you can’t play in the past,” said James, via Jovan Buha. “I can’t sit here and say I’d much rather be where we are today than the one seed. That would be a lie. Of course, seeds matter. But wherever you fall, you take that challenge… and at the end of the day, the games will dictate themselves. No reason for me to be scoreboard-watching.”
LeBron James talks Lakers’ win over the Grizzlies, seeding, Bronny’s future pic.twitter.com/WY2knDqy9s
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 13, 2024
These comments come after a Lakers win on Friday, where both the team and the fans felt frustration over their obvious flaws on the court.
Before the season began, the Lakers had ambitions of finishing within the top six this season. Not only would it have guaranteed them a playoff, but it would have also come with some extra rest between the end of the regular season and the start of the play-in tournament.
Even with LeBron James and Anthony Davis healthy for most of the season, the Lakers failed to hold their place above the play-in line and they are set to compete for their playoff lives for another consecutive season. For a Lakers team that is already older and more fragile than the rest, asking them to win a pair of games just to face off against the top seeds in the West sounds like a death sentence, but stranger things have happened before.
What’s important for the Lakers is to take it one game at a time and to not let anything distract them from the mission. Now that the playoffs have nearly arrived, LeBron and company will be kicking it in an extra gear and they’ll need everything they can get if they want any chance of getting through Denver.
Lakers Vs. Thunder In Round One?
While the standings have yet to be finalized, the matchups as they are now may be considered favorable to the Lakers. Instead of facing the Nuggets as everyone thought, their shocking loss to the Spurs likely means that the Thunder will earn the number one seed in the West.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jaylen Williams, OKC has a strong young core that should not be underestimated in the West. Even so, out of all the contenders, they are the most unproven.
None of the core stars has had a signature playoff moment, and one of them is a rookie who has never even sniffed a playoff atmosphere. Put that inexperience up against LeBron James, and it’s easy to surmise why some Thunder fans might be nervous about a series against the Lakers, who have beaten them multiple times already this season.
But whether it’s the Thunder, Timberwolves, or any other team, LeBron James is going to prepare with the same urgency for all and the Lakers have no choice but to follow his lead and accept whatever challenge is in front of them.
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