To Lose Or Not To Lose?

To lose or not to lose… that is the question of the day. At least if you’re the Lakers. For any and everyone else in any other sport across the world, of course that's not a question. It’s only a question for Lake Show because of the particularly horrendous jam the Lake Show find themselves in.

They can go beat the Pelicans tonight and clinch the #7 seed… and that will get them their playoff spot. But it will also get them a series with the defending champs. A Western Conference Finals rematch with the best player in the world and the team with the best odds to win the West. A team that owns them. A team that they don’t match up.  And frankly a team they shouldn’t want a damn thing to do with it.  In other words, Win tonight and the Lake Show's reward is the Denver Nuggets. 

Exactly LeCap. Here's the other option... You back off this one and send the Pelicans to the slaughter in Denver instead. Then turn around and try to play for the #8 seed and a shot at the Thunder. Might even give them a chance to rest AD. And it would definitely give them a better chance in the first round. 

That's no slight on the Thunder: absolutely no disrespect to the Thunder. They’re young, they’re talented as hell and they earned that one seed. But they are young, they have next to no playoff experience and while I’m not saying you have to have it to make a deep run, I am saying if I’m the Lakers I’d much rather take my chances against OKC than I would the nuggets, because it says here they have no chance against the nuggets.  They can’t get those guys.  They just can’t.  No reasonable person thinks they can.  Hell, even Le-Cap as to know they can’t beat the Nuggets. 

There is one issue though: even though I think they’re a helluba better off losing tonight, the flip side of that is, then there in a single elimination game against either the Warriors or the Kings who both have handled the Lakers easily this season.  A one game elimination against two teams that have had success against them in the regular season, where anything can happen: lost that game, and then you miss the playoffs altogether which would be catastrophic and absolute waste of an incredible year for LeCap.  Win tonight at least you guarantee yourself a chance to get your ass kicked by the Nuggets.  Sure, another sweep at the hands of Denver would suck, but four losses in a row in the first round is still better that not even getting to the first round, right? 

What I’m saying is, essentially, the Lake Show is stuck between a HAM and a hard place right now.  

Or really, Davin Ham is between a rock and a hard place. Because he's the first one gone if this all goes to hell. But I'm also not sure how much power he has over the situation. Or if he has any power over the situation.

Calling for LeCap to LeTank tonight is above the Ham's pay grade. It might even be above Rob Lowe Pelinka's pay grade too. Seriously, who is the one who gets the assignment of telling l LeCap he needs to go out and LeTank tonight? No one in the organization tells l LeCap that: l LeCap tells the organization that.  Or he lets his guys from Klutch do it for him. Or he just takes it upon himself to ensure that it happens. He knows how it is. He knows the Lakers’ best shot to get through the first round is to go through Oklahoma City. And that’s not really some hot take that’s just common sense.

Not only are Denver the defending champs and the favorites in the West and led by the best player in the world... They also own the Lake Show. The Lakers have lost EIGHT straight to the Nugs. Including of course the West Finals last year when the Lake Show got their asses swept. 

And exactly what’s changed since then?  Exactly nothing.  Except joker might even be a better now than he was then, if that possible.  . And given that much of his coaching counterparts routinely turn ham inside out, the hell do you think Michael Malone is going to do to him.  And yes even with LeCap and AD if he goes. It’s still a terrible match up for the Lakers pretty much across the board.

We’re talking about the lesser of two evils here: the defending champs are 8-0 against the Lakers the last two years, and the two no-cal teams are 7-1 against them this season.  Pick your poison.  And I’m picking a single elimination game with the right to play OKC and avoid Denver. Maybe they get slapped by both, but I’d rather go to war against OKC than I would the Nuggets, if I’m the lake show. There’s nothing counterintuitive about that: that’s just common sense. Especially, since OKC is the only team in this entire equation the Lakers have had any success against this year. They were actually 3-1 this season against OKC.

Yo ad what’s good!! Credit for starting a career high 76 games: but a helluva lot good it did you.  And them.  If they’re in the play in game.   Wanna help your team, future face of the franchise?  Don’t play tonight.  Get some extra rest.  Lose.  Come back and help the team you’re supposed to lead into a first round match up with Thunder.

Pelicans/Lakers is just the appetizer tonight anyway. They're just the opener for the main event: the Battle for No Cal. Warriors v Kings. What's left of the Dynasty Dubs vs Light the Beam. HEY FRISCO FAN... Are you ready? Hey Frisco fan... Its winner take all. Season's over for the loser. Winner gets all the dank nugs. Loser gets all the dregs and stems. The stakes don't get any higher my dudes....

It really is a huge game.... It's not just the season on the line, it's possible it will be the end of an era for the Dubs if they can't find a dub tonight. And it's gonna be devastating for the Kings if they can't LIGHT THE BEAM in this winner take all game at home after they failed to LIGHT THE BEAM at home in Game 7 last year.  

Losing would be a disaster for either team in the late game tonight. Which is exactly how it's supposed to be. That's how Commissioner Ears wanted it when he drew up the Ears Play-In Tournament. You were supposed to desperately want to win these play-in games. You were supposed to want these games the way the Dubs and Kings desperately want this game tonight.

What wasn't supposed to happen was the team with arguably the greatest player ever having to consider if they even want to win. Or imagine a first ballot laser like Steph having to play the alleged goat just for the right to make the playoffs. Dang, Ears, look at you now. And now I’m looking for you clones to get up in here: I told you what I think; what do you think. 

What should the Lake Show do tonight? And FRISCO FAN... Who you got in the Battle for Nor Cal??