Who: Los Angeles Lakers (36-44) vs. Utah Jazz (49-30)
When: Sunday, April 7; 6:30 p.m. PST; Staples Center
Where: NBATV
While there’s little more in the Lakers season worth playing for, Los Angeles can find joy in playing spoiler down the stretch. In their last outing, the Lakers upended the Clippers behind a stunning performance from Alex Caruso.
The Lakers can repeat that feat against the Jazz on Sunday, getting a chance to play spoiler twice more this season before heading into the early off-season.
Injury bug
While the Lakers’ injury issues have been well-documented, the Jazz have their own injury crisis of sorts right now. On Sunday, Ricky Rubio, Raul Neto, Derrick Favors, Kyle Korver and Dante Exum are all out while Jae Crowder is questionable. The good news for Utah is that with a 2.5 game lead in the four seed over the Clippers, there’s wiggle room. The bad news is, despite being just a game back of Portland, their chances of gaining ground are slim.
Tank Race
The Lakers nearly got a gift on Sunday when the Timberwolves led by 10 points over the Thunder late in the third quarter. They then flipped the tanking switch and lost, moving them into a tie for the 10th spot in the lottery. Heading into Sunday’s game, the two sides have the same amount of games left. Charlotte’s run to end the season has essentially ruled them out of the race for the 10th spot, meaning the race comes down to two teams.
