The last day of the regular season is in 16 days. And the Western Conference is still a mess. Take a look-see:
The Lakers are strapped with three other teams that have the same 36-37 record. And one of those teams happens to be playing them on Friday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 8-3 in their last 11 games.
Los Angeles got a big win over the Thunder at the beginning of the month. Dennis Schröder held down the fort for L.A. as he led the team in scoring with 26 points. The Lakers didn’t have Anthony Davis while OKC did not have their star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But it was a game both teams needed and the Lakers came out on top.
This game will also have these play-in stakes. You just saw the four-way tie these two teams are in. By virtue of the complicated tiebreakers, however, the Lakers are seated in the 9th spot while the Thunder are on the outside looking in. So this game could definitely jumble up the West yet again. Golden State, Dallas, and Utah are also playing on Friday night in case you want to keep score on what’s happening in the standings.
But back to the game, the Thunder might be a little fatigued after Thursday’s loss to the Clippers. In fact, they’ve been in Los Angeles for some time now; they also played the Clippers on Tuesday, which they won. Yes, these guys are professionals but being in a fast city like Los Angeles for a bit of an extended period has to take a toll on these guys. Especially since they’re about to play a back-to-back.
Still, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be a problem for the Lakers. He went for 30 points in their first game against each other (remember that he didn’t play on March 1st). He’s become a three-level scorer that is nearly unstoppable. The Lakers aren’t going to stop him from getting 30 but they should make sure he has to earn every single one of those points.
Jalen Williams has been one of the hotter rookies as of late. In his last 11 games, he’s been averaging 20.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting .471 from three (even if it’s only 3.1 attempts per game). Josh Giddey continues to astound with his all-around play; he recently went for 17-11-17 against Golden State. And Lu Dort continues to be a menace on the defensive end. His clamping of Kawhi Leonard in the final play against the Clippers on Tuesday was masterful.
As for the Lakers, they’re coming off a huge win against Phoenix. Austin Reaves started on that game after his career game against Orlando (35-6-6). He held down the fort early for the Lakers and did a lot of playmaking in the second half to end with 25 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell were both huge in the second half; they ended with 27 and 26 points, respectively. They’re going to need those kind of performances again against the Thunder.
And coming into Friday night, OKC still puts up the most shots per game. Of course, the Lakers can counter by going to the free throw line; they average the most trips to the charity stripe. Reaves recently revealed he had been watching James Harden and Trae Young and it seems to be paying off. He’s averaged 13.3 free throws per game in his last four, making .849 of them.
For the third time this season, the Lakers get another shot at .500. Either way, a win will put them in a better position than before this game. And if it comes down to it, a win will give the Lakers the tiebreaker against Oklahoma City. If anything, this might come down to the wire for the Lakers so they’re going to have to capitalize on every opportunity they get and rack up as many wins as possible.
