Lakers to play Wolves in first round of NBA playoffs

After a frantic final day of action in the Western Conference, the Lakers have their playoff opponent in the Timberwolves.

While the Lakers may have had things sorted out before the final day of the season, much else was left to be determined on Sunday, including the team’s playoff opponent. With the results all wrapped up, the Lakers will take on the Wolves in the first round.

The big game of the day was the Clippers-Warriors contest, which played a huge role in who the Lakers would play. Denver and Houston also had implications on the day but the Nuggets won in a rout despite the Rockets playing their starters regular minutes.

By the time the dust had settled, the Lakers and Warriors’ overtime duel was the last thing determining who the Lakers would play. A Warriors win moved them to the No. 6 seed while a Clippers win made the Wolves the No. 6 seed. Overtime was needed between the two sides but the Clippers came away with the win, giving the Lakers the Wolves in the playoffs.

In Minnesota, the Lakers will meet a team they actually are quite familiar with, having met four times this year. A pair of wins sandwiched a pair of losses with LA beating them on opening night and after the trade deadline and losing twice in the middle of the season during arguably their low point of the year.

The important thing about this series is that, obviously, the Lakers will have homecourt advantage, something they haven’t been privy to in a playoff series in a very long time. With the 2020 playoffs taking place in a bubble, the last time the Lakers had homecourt advantage in front of fans came in 2012.

At home this season, the Lakers are an impressive 31-10, the third-best mark in the league. Even better, against Western Conference foes, they are 22-4, the best mark in the conference this season.

On top of that, the Lakers will have a week off to prepare, another change from recent seasons when they had to advance through the play-in game to even make the postseason.

Ultimately, it’s certainly a playoff series with plenty of intrigue and excitement. And one the Lakers will have plenty of reason to believe they can win.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.