NBA Game of the week: Lakers vs. Warriors

Tonight, as the NBA season comes to a close there is one last matchup between these two storied franchises. The Lakers face off against the Warriors in the Crypto.com Arena at 10 p.m. for their fourth face-off of the year.

The Warriors come into this game 44-31, currently as the 5th seed in the Western Conference. Against the Lakers this year they are 0-3, winning this matchup means Golden State avoids being swept in the series.

But also, if the Nuggets trip at the finish line and the Warriors catch fire this very matchup could be the 4 seed vs 5 seed matchup in the first round of the playoffs as the Warriors are just two games back from the current 5 seeded Denver Nuggets.

Both of these teams made fairly major acquisitions at the trade deadline, the Lakers making one of the most consequential trades in NBA history, acquiring Luka Doncic from the Mavericks for Anthony Davis, but also the Warriors made a large deal in their own right, trading Andrew Wiggins to Miami for Jimmy Butler.

These two pieces are entirely central to both team’s playoff viability with each providing their new squad with a different kind of spark.

Jimmy Butler since joining the Warriors has provided 17.5 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists with another steal and a half per game.

But Butler’s effect goes further than that as his awareness to cut to the hoop and provide Steph Curry with either an open option down low or a collapsing defense allows the Warriors to run an offense that values the shooting while not being afraid to take easy two-point plays.

The Lakers meanwhile have completely embraced the three-point shot, with Doncic alone averaging almost ten attempts from beyond three-point range for the purple and gold it has completely transformed a team that previously struggled to shoot, preferring to operate through Anthony Davis with Lebron James being the major ball handler.

With the new sheriff in town, adding another very capable passer, it has allowed for the ball movement to improve and highlight other pieces, such as Austin Reaves who has continued to flourish this season, even growing in minutes where he leads the unit when James and Doncic are on the bench.

This matchup will be extremely close as the many all time classics between Lebron James and Stephen Curry continue to be, but this game will depend on these acquisitions, Doncic and Butler to provide more to their new team as each tries to solidify their playoff seeding.

With the Western Conference in a state of disarray this matchup becomes even larger as just the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been clinched atop the conference since March 12th, and the Houston Rockets, who claimed their playoff spot just last night, are safe until the playoffs.

The West remains wide open as a team that may be on the fringe could claim an upper playoff seed.

Massimo Manfra is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mgm6116@psu.edu.