After beating the Utah Jazz in their final game of group play for the In-Season Tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers secured a perfect 4-0 record and will host the quarterfinals of the knockout round.
Los Angeles will now finish as either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed by virtue of their perfect recorder and stellar point differential. The top seed will be determined this Friday when the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves play each other.
The Kings and Timberwolves are the only two teams that catch potentially catch the Lakers for the No. 1 overall seed in the Western Conference, though they’ll need to go 4-0 and overcome a +74 point differential in order to do so.
Sacramento currently owns a +16 point differential, while Minnesota’s is +10. After the two teams meet on Friday, the Kings will conclude group play at home against the Golden State Warriors, while the Timberwolves finish at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
If Sacramento or Minnesota somehow catches Los Angeles, the team would fall to the No. 2 seed and host whoever ends up as the No. 3 seed.
Assuming the Lakers do hold on, though, there are seven teams they could potentially see in the quarterfinals. Those teams are the New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Kings and Timberwolves.
New Orleans currently leads Group B with a 2-1 record and a +23 point differential and finish group play against the L.A. Clippers. They are the No. 3 seed as of Tuesday night.
The quarterfinals are set for Dec. 4 and 5 and if the purple and gold can advance they will head to Las Vegas, where the semifinals and finals of the In-Season Tournament will be held at T-Mobile Arena. Those games will be held on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9, respectively.
Aside from the Lakers, the Indiana Pacers also clinched a spot in the quarterfinals though the rest of the Eastern Conference remains unsettled.
Lastly, by virtue of them qualifying for the quarterfinals, each player on the Los Angeles roster will take home at least $50,000 even if they lose.
As an added bonus, Los Angeles improved their regular season record to 9-6 and currently sit in first place in the Pacific Division. The knockout stage games will also count toward the team’s regular season record.
Group A Standings
1. Los Angeles Lakers: 4-0, +74 point differential
2. Phoenix Suns: 2-1, 0 point differential
3. Utah Jazz: 2-2, -13 point differential
4. Portland Trail Blazers: 1-3, -39 point differential
5. Memphis Grizzlies: 0-3, -35 point differential
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