By the end of Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers — who opened training camp as the favorites to win the West — could be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with three games left in the 2021-22 NBA season.

On Sunday, the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. Hours later, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers (for the second time in three days). The results moved the Spurs (33-45) two games ahead of the Lakers (31-47) for the No. 10 seed and final spot in the Play-In tournament. Because the Spurs own the tiebreaker due to conference record, San Antonio functionally leads Los Angeles by three games.

There are only two paths over the final four games that would lead the Lakers into the Play-In:

  • The Lakers go 3-1, the Spurs go 0-4
  • The Lakers go 4-0, the Spurs go 1-3

Both scenarios are highly improbable. For one thing, the Lakers are bad. They've lost six games in a row and 16 of 20 since the All-Star break. Whether they truly want to extend their season is debatable.

LeBron James has missed three of the past four outings due to a left ankle sprain, and he'll be unavailable to face the Suns — who have beaten the Lakers six times in a row by an average of 18 points. (Anthony Davis, who called the Suns game a “must-must-must win“, is expected to play.)

Should the Lakers fall in Phoenix — who relish their current superiority over their Pacific Division rival — and the Spurs find a way to upset the Denver Nuggets on the road, without Dejounte Murray, the Lakers would officially be toast. At that point, the only source of intrigue will be LeBron's quest to become the oldest player in NBA history to win the scoring title.

The Lakers will visit the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, then cap their miserable campaign in Denver on Sunday. The Spurs close out their season with matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks.