Can the LA Lakers reach NBA Playoffs 2024? Tiebreaker scenarios explored

After Thursday’s games, the LA Lakers are heading to the play-in tournament. They’ve missed the top six spots in the West, so they won’t qualify directly for the playoffs. Instead, they’ll need to compete in the play-in tournament to secure a spot in this year’s playoffs. The Lakers are in tenth in the West ahead of Friday’s matchups.

As things stand now the Lakers would have to win two elimination games on the road just to kae the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. LeBron James and company will want to avoid the Denver Nuggets in the first round. However, their path to the playoffs as the tenth seed remains challenging.

The Lakers could end the season as low as tenth or as high as seventh. The seventh seed would mean they host the first play-in game against the No. 8 seed. The winner would then advance into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed.

Let’s take a look at the remaining scenarios for the Lakers.

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Possible seeding scenarios for LA Lakers

The worst and easiest scenario for the LA Lakers is if they lose their last two games to the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans. This scenario would give the LA Lakers the tenth seed and the toughest path to the playoffs.

However, it’s highly unlikely given that the Lakers play the Grizzlies on Friday. Memphis is fielding its G League roster due to injuries, with 13 players listed as out. As a result, it should be an easy win for LA

So, assuming the Lakers win against Memphis, let’s assume they also beat the Pelicans in the season finale and end with a 47-35 record. Here are the possible scenarios if that happens for LA.

The most likely scenario may be that the LA Lakers win out, the Pelicans lose out, the Warriors win out, the Kings split their last two games, and the Phoenix Suns win out. This would mean the Suns advance to the playoffs. The Pelicans would have a one-game lead over the Warriors and Lakers.

New Orleans would take the seventh seed. The Warriors would win the tiebreaker over the Lakers since they beat them 3-1 in the season series.

The Lakers would secure the ninth seed and host the Kings. The winner of this matchup would then face the loser between the Warriors and Pelicans game, competing for No. 8 seed. Considering the possibility of the Thunder or T’Wolves securing the top seed in the West, this path doesn’t look too unfavorable for the Lakers.

The Lakers could get the seventh seed if they win out and get some help. They would need the Suns to lose their final two games. They would also need the Pelicans to beat the Warriors and the Kings to lose their final game to Portland for good measure.

This would make the Lakers and Suns tied for the seventh seed. The Lakers would win the tiebreaker since they won the season series 3-2. They would then host the Suns in the play-in, with the winner receiving the No. 7 seed.

Other scenarios for the LA Lakers could have them as the No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the play-in. The main thing to keep in mind is the head-to-head tiebreakers.

The Lakers hold the tiebreaker advantage against the Suns due to their 3-2 season series record. However, they would lose tiebreakers to both the Warriors (1-3) and the Kings (0-4) since they lost the season series against these teams.