Lakers finish as eighth seed, will face Pelicans in play-in game

After a wild finish to the season, the Lakers ended the season as the eighth seed and will have a rematch against the Pelicans in the play-in game.

In one of the most exciting finishes to the season in recent NBA history, the Lakers have come out of the madness as the eighth seed and will play the Pelicans in a rematch of Sunday’s decisive win for the purple and gold.

A whole lot changed over the final week of the regular season to get to this point. Injuries and illness to LeBron James and Anthony Davis led to a pair of losses to the Timberwolves and Warriors, taking control of their destiny out of the hands of the Lakers.

With both healthy and back firing at full strength, the Lakers survived against the Grizzlies on Friday before having both the Pelicans-Warriors and Suns-Kings results go their way. By night’s end, the Lakers were back in the No. 8 seed and in control of their fate.

All they needed on Sunday was a win over the Pelicans to seal that spot. They came out fully aware of the stakes of the game, playing with an intensity they’ve hardly shown since the In-Season Tournament (IST). They not only controlled the game throughout, they thoroughly dominated it.

Elsewhere, the Suns went up big on the Timberwolves in Minnesota and controlled their game throughout. As a result, Phoenix moved out of the play-in game and into the sixth seed while New Orleans, who started the day as the sixth seed, dropped down a spot.

Now, the Lakers and Pelicans will meet for a fifth time this season. The Lakers won the season series 3-1, including a blowout in the IST semifinal. The lone loss came during the team’s putrid stretch post-IST, in which New Orleans ran them off the floor at home.

Equally important, the Lakers secured themselves two chances to win one play-in game. While the first game will be on the road, the Lakers would host a potential second game. It’s not ideal to be in the play-in game, but at least the purple and gold made good of a bad situation.

If there is a downside to all of this, it’s that a win on Tuesday would mean the Lakers would meet the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. Not only did Denver sweep the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last season, but they won all three games during the regular season and have an eight-game win streak over the Lakers.

The last time the Nuggets lost to the purple and gold was Dec. 16, 2022, a game in which Russell Westbrook was still on the team and Thomas Bryant was the second-leading scorer.

While things could certainly change on Tuesday, the Lakers have utterly demolished the Pelicans in two high-stakes games this season. That being said, lay an egg on Tuesday, and no one will remember an IST semifinal or regular-season finale victory on either side.

Now, we get to find out the definitive winner of the Anthony Davis trade.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.