The 2024-25 NBA regular season is coming down to the wire. Hyperbolic and generic a statement as that may appear to be, the Los Angeles Lakers epitomize how close teams are to both home-court advantage in the fist round of the playoffs and an appearance in the Play-In Tournament.
The [Lakers have openly acknowledged](https://lakeshowlife.com/dorian-finney-smith-everyone-thinking-lakers-postseason-push) how eager they are to avoid the Play-In Tournament, and a potential nightmare of a matchup is likely a reason why.
There's no world in which Los Angeles would prefer to have to play additional games, let alone in a potential single-elimination setting. They've played at a postseason-caliber level throughout the 2024-25 campaign, even navigating the ebbs and flows to never once drop below .500.
To be forced to play additional games just to reach the playoffs after such a successful regular season would be a demoarlizing turn of events.
Beyond the concerns over demoralization, however, is the haunting reality that Los Angeles would run the risk of outright missing the playoffs. In that scenario, all of the progress made would come to a screeching halt—and it's a real possibility considering they're only 2.5 games up on the No. 7 seed.
The worst-case scenario for the Lakers if they were to fall into a Play-In Tournament position: A game against Anthony Davis and the Dallas Mavericks.
Lakers run risk of facing Anthony Davis in the Play-In Tournament
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Dallas is in the midst of what can only be described as a devastating season. They traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers, lost Kyrie Irving to a season-ending torn ACL, watched Quentin Grimes break out after they shipped him to the Philadelphia 76ers, and have even gone long spells without Dereck Lively III and Daniel Gafford.
Despite that laundry list of unfortunate events, Dallas is on pace to qualify for the Play-In Tournament—and have a healthy Davis leading the charge.
Landing Doncic was an absolute win, but the Lakers must not forget how great Davis is—especially in the playoffs. He was a force of nature during Los Angeles' championship run in 2020, and dominated defensively throughout the purple and gold's trip to the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers bowed out in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, but Davis still compiled averages of 27.8 points, 15.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game.
A proven postseason player with career playoff averages of 26.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.2 blocks per contest, Davis is a superstar whom no team should want to encounter. Los Angeles in specific, however, should avoid him at all costs.
No player has more motivation to take the Lakers down in a postseason or Play-In Tournament setting than Davis—and all he'd need is one great game to do so.
Los Angeles is a better team than Dallas, and Doncic will have just as much motivation against his former team. In a winner-take-all setting, however, betting against a healthy and motivated Davis is one of the worst possible decisions.
There are many ways the Lakers could approach the 2025 NBA Playoffs, but going through Davis is a fate they should be eager to avoid.