The Los Angeles Lakers will start the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference, but they don’t know who their opening-round opponent will be yet.
Sunday will be a very important day for the Lakers.
According to Jovan Buha, one game will determine who the Lakers face in the first round.
If the Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets (who will likely be resting their stars) and the Minnesota Timberwolves defeat the Utah Jazz, the Lakers will face either the Golden State Warriors or the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Warriors game will make the determination, and if the Clippers win, the Lakers will take on the Timberwolves.
But if the Warriors win, they will be the ones to battle the Lakers in the first round.
Assuming DEN beats HOU and MIN beats UTAH on Sunday (two realistic assumptions, but assumptions nonetheless), the Lakers will face Golden State or Minnesota in Round 1. The winner of the LAC-GSW game will determine the seeding. If LAC wins, it’s MIN. If GSW wins, it’s them. https://t.co/M5AjmJTdNy
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 12, 2025
Who would the Lakers rather take on?
The Warriors have always been a tough opponent for the Lakers and seem to have their number often.
But the Timberwolves are a younger, scrappier team and have gone 8-2 in their last 10.
Either way, the Lakers will hold home-court advantage, which might help them a lot.
But they should not count out either of these teams, and just because the Lakers are the third seed doesn’t mean they’ll waltz to victory.
The Lakers will be resting their biggest stars on Sunday for their final game of the season, and they will be paying very close attention to the match between the Warriors and Clippers.
They want to know who they will go toe-to-toe with in the opening round because they want to start making plans so they can be ready.
No matter who it is, the Lakers should be prepared for a fight.
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