After going 5-1 on their six-game road trip, the Lakers (44-33) are back home and will face off against the Cavaliers (46-31) for the final time this season on Saturday afternoon. The game is an early 12:30 p.m. PT tip on Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum SportsNet+.
Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup.
LAKERS PUSHING TOWARDS 8TH
Winners of eight of their last 10, the Lakers have been doing their part to try to move up in the standings but none of the teams ahead of them have been cooperating in the ultra-competitive west. That, however, has begun to change with both the Pelicans (four straight) and the Kings (two straight) on losing streaks while dealing with injuries to key players.
With both teams losing on Friday, the Lakers are now in a tie with the Kings (who are in 8th due to them owning the tiebreaker) and just a game behind the 7th-seeded Pelicans. And with both teams off on Saturday, a Lakers win over Cleveland could propel them into 8th over the Kings while bringing them to within a half-game of New Orleans.
More important than that, however, is the fact that the Lakers now control their own destiny to pass the Pelicans. Since they play New Orleans on the final day of the regualr season, if the Lakers win out, they are guaranteed to hand the Pelicans at least one more loss, which would not only guarantee at least a tie in the standings but the tiebreaker to move past them should it occur.
Things are not as simple against Sacramento since the Lakers would need to finish with one more win than them due to the tiebreaker. That said, both the Pelicans and the Kings still play each other and have some challenging games remaining on their schedule (just as the Lakers do), which could position the Lakers to pass them if things break a certain way.
Below are the final five games for each team:
- Lakers: vs. Cavaliers, vs. Timberwolves, vs. Warriors, at Grizzlies, at Pelicans
- Kings: at Nets, at Thunder, vs. Pelicans, vs. Suns, vs. Trail Blazers
- Pelicans: at Suns, at Blazers, at Kings, at Warriors, vs. Lakers
Of course, irrespective of what those other teams do, the Lakers must focus on themselves and take one game at a time to control what they can control -- an idea they have preached since before their road trip started. And an idea that is even more true now, especially since they can ensure they move up in the standings by handling their own business.
A QUICK TURNAROUND
The NBA season is a marathon, but this final stretch of the season can often feel like a sprint, particularly for a Lakers team that just zigzagged across North American on a six-game road trip only to jump right back into game action what can feel like not a lot of time to recover after returning home.
Because while the Lakers did get two full days off after completing their road trip on Wednesday night, playing their first game after returning at 12:30 p.m. on that third day does cut into their typical recovery time. After the Lakers returned from their last six-game road trip in early February, their first game was also on the third day back, but was a 7:00 p.m. start time for that first home game, giving them that extra few hours to settle into a normal routine and all the benefits that come with that.
Beyond the early start on Saturday, the Lakers jump into game action on Sunday for a back-to-back against Minnesota, and then after one day off will play their third game in four days when they face Golden State on Tuesday. That stretch will end up being the Lakers ninth consecutive game that was part of a three-game in four-nights stretch, which, while not unheard of, is rare and will certainly test them mentally and physically -- especially when factoring in the stakes these games carry due to their standings implications.
In saying that, the is no room for excuses or self-pity when it comes to these sorts of things. The schedule is not generous, but as the team ramps up for what they hope will be another extended postseason run, these are the types of games and circumstances that can steel them for what they want to accomplish.
CAVS RECENT STRUGGLES
While Cleveland finds themselves in a similar standings fight as the Lakers as they try to secure a top-three seed in the east, they do not come into Saturday's game playing as well as they were earlier in the year in their race up to the spot they're now working to secure.
The Cavs are just 4-6 in their last 10 games and after winning 19 of 20 from January 3rd through February 10th, they are just 11-15 in 26 games since that streak and have not won more than two games in a row. Much of these struggles have coincided with injury challenges, especially to Donovan Mitchell who has dealt with a knee issue as well as a broken nose.
Mitchell has played in three of the Cavs' last four games, but his offensive efficiency has not been at his normal level -- especially from behind the arc. The Cavs lost two of those three games, with both losses coming in blowout fashion to the Nuggets and the Suns.
Despite these results, the Cavs must be taken seriously and should in no way be overlooked. Even though Mitchell is working his way back into form, he's too good a player to be discounted, and the team still has a lot of talent in both their starting lineup with Darius Garland, Max Strus, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley as well as their reserve core with Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Sam Merrill. This is a team that can defend the paint and get hot from behind the arc, giving teams fits on both ends of the floor when they're playing well.
For the Lakers, then, this is a game that will require them to bring a focus and level of play that exceeds what was required to close out their road trip against teams that were not to the caliber of this Cleveland group. They will need to be sharp on both ends of the floor, and not mistake the Cavs' recent struggles with them being a bad team.
That said, the Lakers have been very good at recognizing what is needed each game and bringing the requisite urgency in each matchup to close out this season. Do that again in this game and they will put themselves in good position to keep their momentum going.