The Lakers and Warriors have been jockeying between ninth and 10th place in the Western Conference playoff/Play-In race.
Saturday: Warriors at Lakers (8:30 ET, ABC)
If the postseason began today, this would be the No. 9 (Lakers) vs. No. 10 (Warriors) matchup in the SoFi Play-In Tournament, with the loser’s season being over and the winner advancing to a second win-or-go-home game to secure the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.
Earlier this week, our writers were asked which West Play-In team had the best chance of making a Finals run like Miami did a year ago in the East. The Lakers got two of the five votes. That road could begin with another LeBron vs. Steph showdown next month. Before then, we have two more previews of this matchup – Saturday evening and April 9, both in Los Angeles.
Steph’s Status: The Warriors are hopeful Curry will return for Saturday’s game after missing the past three with a sprained ankle. The Warriors are 1-5 without Curry this season.
Playoff Race: The Lakers (36-31) enter Saturday with a one-game lead over the Warriors (34-31), but the two teams are tied in the loss column (31) and in their season series (1-1). With head-to-head being the first tiebreaker, these final two matchups are critical. The Lakers are two games back of No. 8 Dallas in the Play-In and three games back of No. 6 Sacramento for the final guaranteed playoff spot.
Sunday: Suns at Bucks (1 ET, ABC)
KD Chasing Shaq: Kevin Durant enters Sunday’s game against Milwaukee needing 20 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Considering KD is averaging 28.1 ppg for the season, there’s a good chance we will witness a milestone moment for one of the greatest scorers ever.
Playoff Position: The Suns are walking the playoff (top 6) vs. Play-In (7-10) tightrope as Nos. 5-8 in the West entered Friday separated by just two games, with the Suns in seventh place. The Bucks are also fighting for playoff position, but it’s between second and third in the East, so the stakes aren’t quite as high as what Phoenix is facing down the stretch.
Big 3 vs. Dynamic Duo: Just two years removed from meeting in the 2021 NBA Finals, the Suns and Bucks both made major roster changes entering the 2023-24 season with Phoenix adding Bradley Beal to team with Durant and Devin Booker, and the Bucks acquiring Damian Lillard to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Phoenix’s Big 3 has played only 26 games together, going 15-11 in those games. After winning seven straight together in January, the Suns have gone 6-7 in the past 12 games that Booker, Durant and Beal have played.
Milwaukee’s duo of Giannis and Dame has played more than twice as many games together as Phoenix’s trio. The Bucks are 41-18 (.695) when they play together, compared to 2-6 (.250) when only one plays. When comparing net rating, the Bucks are +11.1 points per 100 possessions in the 1,591 minutes that Antetokounmpo and Lillard have shared the court. The Suns are +8.7 when their Big 3 play together but in only 507 minutes.
Sunday: Nuggets at Mavericks (3:30 ET, ABC)
Doncic’s Status: Keep an eye on the injury report for the latest on Luka Doncic, who left Wednesday’s win over the Warriors in the fourth quarter with hamstring tightness and did not play the next day against in OKC. The Mavs had their four-game win streak snapped by the Thunder, falling to 3-6 without Doncic in the lineup.
MVP Ladder: This game features two of the top four players in the latest Kia MVP Ladder: Denver’s Nikola Jokic at No. 1 and Dallas’ Doncic at No. 4. Doncic is on his way to winning his first scoring title with an average of 34.3 ppg and has already met the 58-game threshold for eligibility. Meanwhile, both Doncic and Jokic rank in the top four in assists, serving as the heartbeat of their respective offenses.
Best Since the Break: The defending champs are hitting their stride as the postseason draws near. Since All-Star, the Nuggets are a league-best 10-1 with Jokic averaging a triple-double (25.4 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 10.2 apg). Meanwhile, Dallas is 6-6 since the break with Doncic leading all players in scoring (35 ppg) and assists (11.2 apg).
Playoff Position: The Nuggets (47-20) are in a three-team battle for the top seed in the Western Conference with Oklahoma City (46-20 with the tiebreaker over Denver) and Minnesota (45-21) separated by only one loss. Meanwhile, the Mavs are trying to claw their way out of the Play-In field as they enter the weekend in eighth place, but just a game back of sixth for a coveted guaranteed playoff berth.
