The 2024-25 season is finally coming to a close and the Los Angeles Lakers should feel proud of themselves as they overcame several obstacles throughout the year to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers blew out a shorthanded Houston Rockets team 140-109 to secure their seeding in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Los Angeles will finish the season with at least 50 wins and home-court advantage, though they won’t know their first-round opponent until Sunday’s games have concluded.
The Western Conference standings have been jumbled for weeks now and the race is unprecedented territory as there are numerous possibilities for how the seeding will shake out. The four teams still battling to avoid the Play-In Tournament are the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, L.A. Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
While the Nuggets have made headlines the past week after abruptly firing former head coach Michael Malone, they still remain a formidable playoff threat. Meanwhile, the Warriors, Clippers and Timberwolves have been playing their best basketball down the stretch and all could make some serious noise come playoff time.
Denver and Minnesota have easy games to close out their regular season schedule, with the former taking on a Houston team that will likely rest their starters while the latter plays a tanking Utah Jazz team. Assuming the Timberwolves beat the Jazz, John Hollinger of The Athletic laid out how the standings would look in various scenarios:
West scenarios pic.twitter.com/vQG091mmaV
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) April 12, 2025
It might be safe to assume the Nuggets will win against the Rockets because the latter has nothing to play for. However, if they somehow find a way to lose they could potentially find themselves in the seven spot and have to win a Play-In Tournament game.
The most important game on the slate is between the Clippers and Warriors as the loser will be in the Play-In assuming the Nuggets win. With Minnesota and Denver projected to win their games, Los Angeles can expect to play either Minnesota or Golden State in the first round.
In the unlikely scenario that the Nuggets lose and the Clippers win, the Lakers would play Denver in the first round. Lastly, a Warriors win and a Nuggets loss would mean the Lakers see the Warriors instead.
All in all, Sunday should be a fun day in the NBA and the Lakers can sit back and enjoy the show after clinching the No. 3 seed.
Austin Reaves confident in what Lakers can accomplish in playoffs
The Lakers have every reason to feel optimistic heading into the 2025 NBA Playoffs as they’ve got the star power and depth to go far. Austin Reaves is playing the best basketball of his career and is confident in what the Lakers can accomplish in the postseason.
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