Even with Anthony Davis back in the lineup, Dennis Schroder and the Los Angeles Lakers still succumbed to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, 115-110. Once owners of the best record in the Western Conference, the reigning champions have dropped all the way to the fifth spot with a 35-24 slate.
But as far as Schroder is concerned, there's no reason to sound the alarm just yet. After all, he doesn't mind where the Lakers rank come postseason time, as long as they are in it. After dropping 25 points and 13 assists against the Mavericks, the fiesty playmaker made his case (via Christian Rivas of SB Nation).
Dennis Schröder said he doesn't think it matters where the Lakers finish in the standings.
— Christian Rivas (@RadRivas) April 23, 2021
Schröder: "If everybody is there in a seven-game series, I'd put my money on us."
— Christian Rivas (@RadRivas) April 23, 2021
Fans have been concerned as of late since the Lakers have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games. Losing Davis and LeBron James for a significant amount of time certainly hurt the team's cause. But as Schroder stressed, seedings in the NBA Playoffs might not be as important, especially when they get LeBron back and finally complete their deep roster.
While live audiences are slowly being welcomed back in states where COVID-19 restrictions have eased, most believe there's still no such thing as a homecourt advantage given the limited fans in the arenas. Plus, TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal already claimed that the Lakers are still the favorites since they really don't need homecourt advantage to win.
Then again, with the play-in format in effect, the Lakers don't really want to drop all the way down to the seventh or the eighth seed, where a string of bad games can easily knock them out of contention. Do you agree with Dennis Schroder's rather audacious take?
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