Following the Los Angeles Lakers' 116-108 victory on Sunday against the Utah Jazz, LA has now officially clinched the top seed in the West. Lakers veteran Jared Dudley was understandably delighted with his team's achievement on the evening. The outspoken veteran could not help but send out a warning for the rest of the league after Sunday night's win.
In Dudley's mind, the Lakers aren't even close to playing to their full potential just yet:
We might not be playing our best basketball YET! It’s only a matter of time! When your adding new players into rotation and trying to get yours legs underneath you! it’s a process! Can’t forget about @AntDavis23 tonight! Straight monster! #1 seed in the West! #clinch
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) August 4, 2020
The man has a point here. The Lakers are playing without Avery Bradley (opted out) and Rajon Rondo (thumb surgery), who are two key rotational pieces for the team. They also added Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith during the hiatus, both of whom have yet to fully acclimatize to head coach Frank Vogel's system. Nevertheless, the Lakers have made it two-out-of-three in their first three contests inside the Disney World bubble.
Sunday's victory allowed the Lakers to officially clinch the first seed in the West. This means that they will have nothing more to play for moving forward, so a couple of nights off for their stars might be forthcoming.
The Lakers now await their opponent for the first round, which most likely will be determined by a play-in tournament once all the teams have played out their eight seeding games. At the moment, the Memphis Grizzlies are the owners of the eighth seed. However, both the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs are right on their heels at just a few games behind. The New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns are likewise still in the mix for the final postseason spot. Needless to say, it will be a battle to the end in the ruthless Western Conference.
Follow Us
Subscribe