Lakers Playoff Watch: How LA Can Avoid Play-In Today

Hint: it requires a Lakers win.

On a busy NBA Easter Sunday, your Los Angeles Lakers will have at least a chance to skip the Western Conference's play-in tournament this coming week and rest their weary bones ahead of the playoffs next weekend.

Los Angeles is set to face off against a nakedly tanking Utah Jazz team, who will be sitting six of its best players against LA to almost ensure a loss. To be fair, on Tuesday last week Utah sat several key players including its top two scorers and its best defender, and pushed the Lakers to overtime before they locked up an eventual 135-133 win. The Jazz are taking no chances now, and sitting even more players, including their third- and fourth-best scorers, this time.

Guaranteed to at the very least be one of the top two play-in seeds (either the seventh or eighth seed, and thus capable of getting two chances to make the playoffs) at 42-39, LA will need a little help from some of its West competitors today to secure a playoff berth.

The Lakers own their season tiebreakers against the New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors. The Clippers own their tiebreaker against the Lakers.

The fifth-seed Los Angeles Clippers and the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors are each 43-38. Because the Clippers possess a tiebreaker with the Lakers, the Warriors will need to lose their game today for the Lakers to make the playoffs and skip the play-in. 

The Clippers will be playing the Phoenix Suns, who as you'll recall sat five of their top eight players (including their all of their top four) against the Lakers. If that trend continues and the Clippers opt to play Kawhi Leonard and co., the Clips should win. But then again, the Clippers love to sit Kawhi Leonard. 

Golden State, meanwhile, will be playing the tanking Portland Trail Blazers. But will the Warriors be that concerned about a playoff berth vs. a play-in berth? Or will they, too, sit veteran stars like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson ahead of what they're hoping will be a successful title defense?

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