Lakers’ health, chemistry far more important than homecourt advantage

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in the midst of their toughest stretch of the season. 

Starting last Thursday in Denver, nine of their next 11 games were against playoff teams with six of eight against teams currently bunched up with them in the Western Conference standings. 

With 18 games remaining, the NBA’s marathon 82-game season is now a sprint to the finish — that magical time when fans begin squinting at the standings like stockbrokers watching a volatile market.

Every win feels like leverage.

Every loss feels like disaster.

The next nine days could decide if the Lakers will have homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

But that begs the question: Do the Lakers need or want homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA Playoffs?

The answer might surprise you.

No. Not really. 

Of course, if you ask any player or coach publicly, they’ll say the right things. Homecourt advantage matters. The crowd helps bring energy. Sticking to your normal routine helps. Sleeping in your own bed helps.

All of that is true.

But the reality of the NBA playoffs — especially in the Western Conference — is that matchups and health matter far more than geography.

Right now, the Lakers sit in the middle of the Western Conference traffic jam. Seeds three through six are separated by a single game heading into action Monday night. Oklahoma City and San Antonio have already pulled away at the top like two sports cars leaving a crowded freeway.

Everyone else is stuck jockeying for position.

The Lakers are currently tied with Denver for fifth. Minnesota currently sits in third. Houston sits in fourth just a half-game ahead of the Lakers.

Over the next nine days, the Lakers will face all of them.

Minnesota on Tuesday. Denver on Saturday. Then two back-to-back road games in Houston.

If the Lakers win their next five games, they will sit alone in third place with homecourt advantage in the first round in their control.

“It’s not something we’re focused on, but we’re definitely aware of,” said Lakers’ guard Marcus Smart about the upcoming stretch. “My experience, we got to focus on one game at a time…We don’t have the luxury to look ahead. We definitely got to take it one game at a time and handle business.”

Handling business is great, but let’s pause for a moment and remember something.

This is exactly what happened last season.

With 18 games to go last year, the Lakers found themselves in fourth place in a crowded Western Conference. Seeds two through eight were separated by four games, with two through five separated by just 1.5 games. Everyone wanted the Lakers to finish second or third. 

When the dust settled, they finished third in the West and earned homecourt advantage in the first round.

And it didn’t matter one bit.

Minnesota walked into Crypto.com Arena in Game 1 and punched the Lakers in the mouth. The Timberwolves blew them out in front of their own crowd. The Lakers recovered to win Game 2, but the rest of the series unraveled quickly.

They lost the series in five games, including two of their three home games,

So much for homecourt advantage.

Last season the Lakers were dominant in Los Angeles, finishing 31–10 at home — the second-best home record in the Western Conference behind the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

It looked impressive in the standings, but it meant nothing in April. It rarely does when the matchup is wrong.

And matchups are exactly what the Lakers should be studying during this upcoming stretch, not necessarily results. 

With a month left in the regular season this team is still figuring itself out. Their home record is already worse than last season at 20-12. That’s the 12th best home record in the NBA. Their road record is ranked higher.

LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves — arguably the most fascinating offensive trio in the conference — have played only a little over a dozen games together. The chemistry is improving, but playoff basketball demands instinctive trust.

The kind that comes from repetition.

The next nine days will act as a scouting report for April. The Lakers will see how they match up against Minnesota’s size and length, Denver’s experience, and Houston’s relentless athleticism.

These games are not just about wins and losses.

They’re about gathering information. They’re about discovering which lineups survive when the game slows down. They’re about understanding which defensive matchups can lock-up their opponent during a seven-game series.

“This could be a perfect time or not,” Doncic said about the upcoming schedule. “Just gotta approach those games with the same mentality. Obviously, every one of those teams has great players. They’re winning games. So we need to go game by game first of all, and then just try to win all those games.”

If the Lakers secure the No. 3 seed, great. They’ll happily take the home games.

But if they finish fifth, avoid the play-in tournament, and have a more favorable matchup?

That’s perfectly fine too.

Because the truth about playoff basketball is brutally simple.

It isn’t about where you play. It’s about who you play — and whether you’re healthy enough to beat them.

LeBron is dealing with a banged up elbow and arthritic feet. Maxi Kleber has a bad back. Ayton is dealing with a gimpy knee. Reaves is only a few weeks removed from a calf strain that cost him nearly half the season.

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So if you’re a Lakers fan nervously watching the standings every night, take a breath.

Yes, winning these next five games would be a statement. Yes, climbing to third place would look nice on the bracket.

But the real goal isn’t seeding.

It’s survival.

Stay out of the play-in tournament. Build chemistry between LeBron, Luka, and Reaves. Get Ayton playing like “DominAyton” again.

And most importantly — arrive to the postseason healthy.

Do that, and homecourt advantage becomes a luxury.

Fail to do it, and homecourt becomes nothing more than a pretty backdrop for another team’s celebration.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com