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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 14: JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the second half of a game at Mortgage Matchup Center on December 14, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Los Angeles Lakers are playing for playoff seeding in the final day of the 2025-26 NBA regular season, but not in the way many expect.

The Lakers are currently fourth in the Western Conference standings, and would like to keep it that way in order to play the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.

However, Los Angeles is just a game behind the Denver Nuggets, and if the Lakers win and Nuggets lose, the two teams would swap in the standings, meaning the Southern California team would play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, a matchup they are not expected to be hopeful about.

Lakers Could Gift Timberwolves Dream Playoff Scenario If Injury News Plays Out Right

There are a few reasons why the Lakers could easily jump up in the standings and end up playing the Timberwolves in the first round, a matchup that happened last year and saw a dominant 4-1 series win by Minnesota.

For one, the Nuggets have a loaded injury report for their game against the San Antonio Spurs, with many starters out and Nikola Jokic currently listed as questionable. While the Spurs are favorites to win the game, Denver doesn’t need, or even want, the win against a higher-ranked team, making the possibility of a loss and drop in the standings all the more likely.

Additionally, the Lakers will be without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, while LeBron James and Jaxson Hayes are both questionable. Even if James and Hayes play, Los Angeles is a heavy favorite over the tanking Utah Jazz, a team hopeful to lose to get a better spot in the draft lottery.

If the Lakers win, that would be a dream scenario for the Timberwolves, as while they’ve faced some injury concerns over the past few weeks to Anthony Edwards and others, it’s the first-round matchup they would like the most.

In simple terms, both the Lakers and Nuggets want to play the Rockets in the ‘4-5’ matchup instead of the Timberwolves in the ‘3-6’ matchup. If Los Angeles wins and Denver loses, the two teams would swap in the playoffs; if both have the same outcome on Sunday, nothing would change, and it would be Denver playing Minnesota, and the Lakers playing the Rockets.

Lakers Current Playoff Situation And Injuries

The Lakers were in a good spot for the postseason before Doncic and Reaves went down, as it’s now up to James to lead the team in at least the first round of the playoffs.

While Los Angeles was previously hopeful to have a favorable first-round matchup, which is still possible, head coach JJ Redick said playoff seeding was thrown out the window when the team’s top two scorers went out.

Additionally, Redick recently said ‘everybody wants to play us,’ due to the injuries and uncertain return timelines for their two stars.

“I’m sure everybody wants to play us,” Redick said on Friday. “Let’s get that out there, like, everybody wants to play us.”

While Reaves is expected to miss a few more weeks, a potential Doncic return timeline is still unknown. Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN reported that the Slovenian could get back on the court for the Lakers very soon, but that remains to be determined. Both will miss the regular-season finale against the Jazz.

James and Hayes are questionable, both dealing with foot injuries for Sunday. The injury status of those two remains uncertain as well, but even if they don’t play, getting a win, which the Lakers won’t want, against a Utah team sitting at least eight players, might not be too difficult.

Both the Lakers vs Jazz and Nuggets vs Spurs games tipoff at 8:30 pm EST/5:30 pm PST. With a Lakers win and Nuggets loss, Los Angeles will play the Timberwolves in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.