Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James drives to the basket against Recent Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson within the second half of an NBA basketball game in Recent Orleans, Sunday, April 14, 2024. The Lakers won 124-108. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
LeBron James will likely be out to increase his twenty first NBA campaign on Tuesday when his Los Angeles Lakers open the NBA play-in tournament against the Recent Orleans Pelicans, the winner booking a playoff meeting with the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers closed the regular season with a dominant victory over the Pelicans on Sunday.
James said the Lakers can’t afford a letdown against a Pelicans team wanting to turn the tables.
“They’re going to be extremely ready for us, and now we have to are available in with the identical sense of urgency,” said James, who at 39 stays a formidable force within the league.
The losing team will get another likelihood to achieve the playoffs, taking up the winning team from Tuesday’s game between the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings and Tenth-placed Golden State Warriors for a first-round meeting with Western Conference top seed Oklahoma City.
READ: NBA Playoffs: The play-in arrives and drama awaits
Last season the Lakers got here through the play-in to achieve the Western Conference finals, where they were swept by Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
The Miami Heat did even higher out of the play-in, earning the eighth seed within the East and reaching the NBA Finals where in addition they succumbed to Denver.
The Heat will likely be attempting to retrace that path after they travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday to play the 76ers — the winner booking a first-round meeting with Eastern Conference second seeds the Recent York Knicks.
“We’ve had some great battles with (Miami),” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “I all the time expect that versus them.”
Nurse was confident that reigning NBA Most Precious Player Joel Embiid, who sat out the ultimate game of the regular season to rest his surgically repaired knee, could be “able to go” against Miami.
The 76ers are 31-8 with Embiid playing this season.
The loser of that game will play the winner of Wednesday’s Atlanta-Chicago contest for the eighth and final playoff berth within the East — and a first-round meeting with the top-seeded Boston Celtics.
READ: The NBA play-in games are set
Embrace it
In Recent Orleans on Sunday, James posted a triple-double and spearheaded the Lakers’ defensive effort on Pelicans big man Zion Williamson.
“He’s a beast,” James said of Williamson, who’s trying to steer Recent Orleans to the playoffs for the primary time since 2022.
However the Lakers’ could be more concerned on Tuesday with the status of their very own star Anthony Davis, who hobbled out of Sunday’s win in the ultimate minutes, saying his back “locked up” after he took a shove.
The Warriors and Kings will likely be fighting for his or her postseason lives in Tuesday’s second game in Sacramento.
Warriors star Stephen Curry scored 50 points in game seven to steer Golden State to victory over the Kings in the primary round last 12 months.
However the teams have split their 4 meetings this season, including the Warriors’ one-point loss in Sacramento in November in a game they led by 24.
In truth, the last three regular-season games between the Warriors and Kings were decided by one point.
“You possibly can’t be intimidated by what’s in front of you, you’ve just got to embrace it,” Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson said. “It’s exciting – we’ve got an excellent shot to win in Sac, after which don’t look ahead, just attempt to maintain business in Sacramento.”
