Should the Lakers tank the first play-in game to avoid Denver?

[lakersfever714]

[CamReddish]

[E_Wulf420]

They are going to have to get thru Denver then Phoenix and then Dallas. It's not going to be easy.
Best case scenario was Min/OKC then NOP and then Denver.
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[venturalakersfan]

Perfect example of why teams should ignore their fans
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RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.

[lakerfansd]

If we play Denver and we lose we weren't good enough this year which I can accept looking at our roster and flaws.
As Ric Flair said: To be the man, you gotta beat the man. Woooo!

In all seriousness, risking tanking a game for single game elimination is not worth it. Draymond could "accidentally" hit AD in the face or Lebron in Le Jewels causing an injury. Kings are not a good match-up.

Go Lakers!!!

[lakersfever714]

[kikanga]

[Hanging from Rafters]

[E_Wulf420]

[pjiddy]

my initial thought was the Lakers wouldn't tank, but might sit AD and let the chips fall where they may. But it seems he's going to play. They're not gonna tank.

You have to play the Nuggets at some point. You can't hope to win a title ducking a team, least of all the defending champs. You have to play them. There's no West team that presents a bad matchup for them.

It's better to play them now, in the first round, where there's 2-3 days off in between games. The Lakers got gassed in the every-other-day schedule of the WCF, especially having to play in Denver, with their airport that's three hours from the arena. Play them in Round 1 and either slay the beast or get the heartbreak over with asap.

[Hammett]

Crush NO and rest up for DEN. LFG!
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Lakers. Built different.

[leking006]

[leking006]

[Robblake]

If they are ducking anyone then it’s not a championship squad in the first place

[markjay]

[Denny_Russo]

The championship goes through Denver.
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Yi Jianlian Fanboy. Respect The Chair.
Starting anew. I'm retiring my main.

[defense]

Beat who is in front of us and worry about the next team when the current job is done.

[Four Decade Bandwagon]

[JUST-MING]

[Cyberfreak444]

It sucks that the Nuggets wound up with the 2 seed. But I still think the best path is to win and get the 7 seed for several reasons:

1) If you have to face Denver with their altitude advantage, the best time to face them is in round one when there is the most days of rest between games and where the Lakers players are the freshest they will be all playoffs.

2) Jamal Murray is not 100 percent yet since coming back from his injury.

3) The gap between the Nuggets and the Lakers isn't as great as the head-to-head record indicates. Last year in the playoffs the Lakers had a hobbled LeBron who couldn't hit threes, a totally useless DeAngelo Russell, and a simplistic offensive scheme that didn't take advantage of Jokic's one defensive weakness - his struggle stepping out to the three point line and guarding out in space. In round one the Lakers will have a healthy LeBron who is shooting 41 percent from three, DLo in the midst of a career renaissance, and a five out offensive scheme that will at least ask questions of Jokic.

4) If the Lakers lose the 7/8 game they then must play a do or die game against a high powered offensive team on Friday before going on the road two days later. That is the most exhausting path. If they win, their team - especially guys like Reaves (who has played all 82), Bron, and AD - will get some much needed rest. And any extra game means additional possibility of injury for the Lakers key rotation players.

5) There is no guarantee the Lakers will beat the Kings or the Warriors. I believe the Lakers are better than both teams. But whenever you face a high powered offense in one game, you run the risk of them just hitting a million threes and just losing on that alone.

6) If the Lakers lose the 7/8 and wind up advancing, chances are that they will still have to face Denver down the road anyway. Do we really think that the Pelicans or the Suns/Wolves will beat them? But now in the conference finals, the Lakers lose all the advantages of #1 above, and instead have to play every other day in a series with 4 of 7 games being in altitude. And they'd have to do so after going through OKC and then a difficult second round against either Clippers or Mavs.

Don't tempt the basketball gods. Win and advance.

[governator]

Let me put it clearly, a one game elimination game is much much much more risky than a 7 game series. Plus we ain’t ducking crap if we serious about a championship run
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“The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“

[Cyberfreak444]

[joeblow]

[av3773]

We're not the Clippers.....we're the Lakers we embrace the tougher path, to be the best you have to beat the best and I'd rather get Denver earlier in the playoffs when the squad as a whole is likely to be healthiest...Vando is the big factor for more time, but even at this stage I think Vandos contributions if and when he comes back may need to be tamped down in terms of expectations, he's been out a while now....of course Vando could easily prove me wrong because he has such a fantastic motor...

[I Bleed P&G]

It’s laughable that some of you think the Lakers are in a position to pick and choose whom to face. Don’t be so gullible due to this team’s one-game performance.