After defeating the Golden State Warriors 103-100 in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers are officially the seventh seed in the Western Conference. As such the team will face the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The first game of the series will take place in Phoenix at the Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday, May 23 at 12:30 p.m. PT. The second game will also be in Phoenix just two days later on Tuesday, May 25 at 7 p.m. PT.
The series will then shift to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 at Staples Center. The first of which will take place on Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m. PT with Game 4 then happening on Sunday, May 30 at 12:30 p.m. PT. Should the series continue beyond that, Game 5 will be in Phoenix on Tuesday, June 1, Game 6 will be Thursday, June 3 in Los Angeles and a Game 7 would take place on Saturday, June 5 in Phoenix.
The Suns captured the second-seed in the Western Conference with the second-best record in the entire NBA at 51-21, just one game behind the top-seeded Utah Jazz. Phoenix also won the season series between the two teams 2-1, defeating the Lakers in the first two contests by margins of 10 and 17 points.
It should be noted, however, that Anthony Davis did not play in either of the first two games between the teams, with LeBron James also missing the second of those two games. In the most recent game on May 9 however, the Lakers defeated the Suns by 13 points with Davis in the lineup, but without LeBron James.
In his lone contest against the Suns, Davis finished with 42 points 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks in the Lakers’ victory. James also played just one game against Phoenix posting 38 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
The Lakers have done a respectable job defensively against the Suns’ All-Star backcourt of Devin Booker and Chris Paul this season. Booker averaged just 21.3 points per game on 47.9% shooting and just 22.2% from 3-point range in three contests against the Lakers this season. Paul meanwhile averaged just 10.7 points on 35.7% shooting and 25.7% from deep, though he did also average 11 assists in those three games.
Warriors-Grizzlies to play Friday night for eighth seed
The Warriors are not out of the playoff race just yet as they will have another chance to secure the final playoff spot in the Western Conference on Friday night. The Warriors will host the Memphis Grizzlies, who defeated the San Antonio Spurs earlier on Wednesday with the winner capturing the eighth seed in the West.
The Warriors won the season series 2-1 with the final game coming on the last day of the regular season. Stephen Curry scored 46 points on Sunday to lead the Warriors to a 12-point win. Had the result been different, the Lakers would have been hosting the Grizzlies on Wednesday night instead of the Warriors.
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