With a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers fell into a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 2 spot in the West bracket of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Lakers maintain a tiebreaker advantage over the Mavericks by virtue of a division championship, but should Dallas win its final two games (against Houston and New Orleans) and L.A. loses to either San Antonio or Sacramento, the Mavericks would pick up the No. 2 spot and home court advantage in the second round, should both teams advance.
Lakers Fall Into Tie With Mavericks, In Danger Of Losing Home Court In Second Round Of NBA Playoffs
The Lakers could actually fall all the way to the No. 4 seed, which with it would come a first-round matchup against the terrifying Denver Nuggets and a potential second-round pairing with the 61-win (and counting) Spurs. To fall to fourth, the Lakers would have to lose to both San Antonio and Sacramento, the Mavericks would have to win one of their two remaining games and the Thunder would have to beat the Kings and the Bucks.
L.A.‘s final game of the reason is at Sacramento. With relocation rumors hounding the Kings, that game is already sold out, as it could be the final NBA game in Sacramento.
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