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Lakers guard Austin Reaves drives to the ring as Clippers middle Ivica Zubac defends within the second half at Crypto.com Enviornment.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Instances)
The Lakers locked up their spot within the NBA Cup quarterfinals, however there are nonetheless significant Cup video games to be performed.
With a 3-0 document in West Group B, the Lakers can clinch home-court benefit within the quarterfinals with a win Friday towards the Dallas Mavericks within the group stage finale. A win could be the only solution to keep away from resorting to the purpose differential tiebreaker that might nonetheless be in play to resolve the No. 1 seed within the West. Outscoring opponents by 36 factors, the Lakers’ level differential is 27 factors behind West Group A leaders Oklahoma Metropolis (2-0 in group play) for the potential No. 1 seed. The highest-seeded group will host the wild-card group, which earns its spot within the quarterfinal by advantage of being one of the best second-place group in group play. Portland and Denver are tied atop West Group C with 2-1 information.
The three-year-old NBA Cup, impressed by related in-season tournaments in European leagues, has sparked confusion concerning the colourful courts and ever-changing group stage situations. The potential further highway journey and further championship recreation might find yourself placing extra put on on groups which have bigger playoff ambitions, however the prize makes it well worth the hassle: $500,000 for every participant.
“Obviously I’ll accept money,” Doncic stated with a sarcastic smile. “That’s easy. … I played it in Spain, something like this, so I like it. Just the courts, please.”
Doncic stated the Lakers’ NBA Cup court docket — shiny yellow with the gold and black trophy painted into the important thing — prompted issues for a couple of gamers as they slipped on the brand new hardwood. An space close to the free-throw line in entrance of the Clippers bench seemed to be particularly slippery. Doncic stated he might inform instantly throughout warm-ups that the floor might be an issue.
“I slipped a lot of times and you could see a lot of players slipped,” Doncic stated. “And that’s dangerous, man.”
Redick stated he observed gamers slipping, but additionally that they have been falling previous to that. He stated the group will look into the court docket.
