LOS ANGELES • The Los Angeles Lakers have four regular-season games left and they will likely have to win all four and hope the Portland Trail Blazers, in sixth and a spot above them in the Western Conference, stumble.
For the first time, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has implemented a play-in tournament for teams that finish from seventh to 10th in both conferences to determine the seventh and eighth seeds in the play-offs, which start on May 22.
LeBron James has whined about the prospect of the NBA champions entering the play-in tournament, saying earlier this month that "whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired".
The Lakers find themselves in this position because their form has slumped while Anthony Davis and Finals Most Valuable Player James were injured for long stretches of the season.
But Los Angeles can take confidence from their remaining schedule - with the exception of the New York Knicks, who are fourth in the East, their other three opponents are sub-.500 teams.
The Lakers got their hardest game, at least on paper, out of the way as a game-high 42 points from Davis and a three-point barrage - the hosts connected on 13 shots - overwhelmed the Phoenix Suns, second in the West, in a 123-110 win at the Staples Centre on Sunday.
Los Angeles (38-30), who lost eight of their previous 10 games, were without James, Kyle Kuzma and Dennis Schroder but managed to send out a strong statement that they are still one of the best teams in the league on their day.
No timeframe has been set for the return of James, who recently came back after six weeks out before missing the past four games with the same ankle injury, and Kuzma. But coach Frank Vogel said he was hopeful Schroder can return for their final two games.
On the possibility of the play-in tournament, Vogel also claimed he was "unafraid", but admitted that the team still wanted to avoid it, saying: "There's too many things that can happen in a one-game series.
"Foul trouble, roll of an ankle and anything like that could pop up, so we definitely want to finish in the top six. It's a high priority for us, but at the same time, if we end up in the play-in tournament, we're confident in our group."
REUTERS
