Quite interesting to see these 3 teams having exactly the same standings with only 2 games left. This could change anytime and we might not going to see the Lakers and the Warriors play against each other in the play-in tournament.
The Lakers might going to play against the Kings and it will not be a good match up for them as the Kings were undefeated against the Lakers in the last couple of years, and also Davis did not win against Sabonis his entire career. So, the Lakers are in huge trouble now.
The Warriors are also not in good hand against the Phoenix as they are 1-3 against them and only won the last game with only 1 point difference.
Well, things are getting interesting in the last 2 games for both the play-in teams and the top seed teams.
The best things that would happen to the Lakers are: first, New Orleans needs to win against the Warriors; they need to beat the Warriors so the Warriors will go down in the seeding. Next, Phoenix needs to beat the Sacramento Kings too, and with that, Sacramento will go down in the seeding. Lastly, the Lakers need to win all of the remaining games they had, which are the Pelicans and Grizzlies. The Grizzlies should be an easy win for them, and the and the Pelicans are 50-50 since Brandon Ingram will be suiting up (of course it's the Lakers LOL) after missing some games. But I think the Lakers can win this if they manage to set the tone early and are healthy.
With that, the Lakers will be the 8th seed, and they can escape either the Sacramento Kings or the Warriors since it will be 7th vs. 8th, and they should win their play-in so they can get the 7th seed and escape the Warriors and Kings. If they manage to manage the 7th seed, they can face either the Wolves or the Thunder in the first round.
Just as expected, the Warriors lost to the Pelicans 109-114, the Kings lost to the Suns 107-108, and the Lakers survived maybe one of the worst games of the season, 120-123 against the Lakers. Now, with the Lakers at the 8th seed, they have control of their own destiny. They just need to win the last game of their season against the Pelicans; with a win, they can guarantee the 8th seed, and if they lose, they will be at the 10th seed. This will be important for the Pelicans as well, as they need to win this game so they can secure the 6th seed and avoid the play-in, and with a loss, they will fall to the 7th seed.
Basically, if the Lakers win the game against the Pelicans, they will be facing each other again in the play-in for the 7th seed. So they will be facing each other twice (if the Lakers win the last game of the season).