Lakers coach JJ Redick is unsure of what seed his team will get in the Western Conference playoffs standings, with Nos. 3-5 all possible as the regular season concludes.
However, he believes other teams won’t be afraid of facing his team, given that Luka Doncic is sidelined because of a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and Austin Reaves is out with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury.
In fact, Redick thinks the other West teams that still have their seeding to be determined will favour L.A. as their first-round opponent.
“I’m sure everybody wants to play us,” Redick said before the Lakers’ 101-73 win at home over the Phoenix Suns on Friday. “Let’s get that out there, like, everybody wants to play us.”
Lakers’ Current Position in the West
The Lakers (52-29) are currently No. 4 in the West, one game behind the No. 3 Denver Nuggets (53-28).
The Lakers hold the tiebreaker over Denver and the Houston Rockets (51-30) by virtue of winning their season series against both teams.
Minnesota defeated the 5th-seeded Rockets, 136-132, in Houston on Friday; Minnesota is locked into No. 6.
Denver’s Lineup Decisions
Denver defeated the West’s No. 1 team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, on Friday, 127-107.
OKC has clinched No. 1 and rested 10 of its players. Denver also sat out seven players — including Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon — on Friday, even though the Nuggets’ seeding is still undecided.
Without naming any teams, Redick seemed to allude to Denver’s lineup decision.
Redick’s Focus on His Team
“[Teams] are in a position where they can start looking forward to potential second-round matchups as well,” Redick added. “We see some of those teams rest their entire lineup basically, so they — we can’t be concerned with all of that.
“Again, I’ll say what I told the team yesterday, what I told you guys after the game, we have to figure out the formula and the belief for this group to be successful. And so, that’s our focus for tonight, and that’s going to be our focus on Sunday.”
L.A. closes out its schedule at home against the Utah Jazz (22-59).