Tuesday night’s play-in tournament matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans will determine who advances to play the Denver Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs.
It has been discussed whether the Lakers would have been better off losing their first play-in game and aiming for the eighth seed after the Nuggets swept them in last year’s Western Conference Finals.
Although many people find this to be a ridiculous idea, it is being debated in several media outlets, such as the most recent episode of Gil’s Arena. Gilbert Arenas, a former NBA player, stated of the Lakers vs.
Pelicans game, “We losing.” We apologize; we will play you again in the second game. Are you insane? … What will we be playing OKC if we lose on Tuesday? OKC? We’re giving it a spanking.”
Arenas expressed his opinion that the Lakers should aim for the eighth spot and a meeting with OKC, but he also mentioned how Los Angeles would match up with Denver in the event that Jamal Murray was not fully healthy.
