Rise from the ashes? Ask the Lakers. Lackluster and average until the trade. Doncic’s arrival was suspicious, but they fit well. Then came the King’s injury, and they stumbled. Gathered again to rest 3rd in the seed with a 50-31 record. Ups and downs are a part of their ‘life’, but their strong heads take them to the right road. The Los Angeles Lakers have secured their place in this season’s playoffs as the third seed in a stacked Western Conference. This means LeBron James and Co. will have a precious home-court advantage heading into the first round of the playoffs. Great news, and for them, everything is. The LA faithful have seen JJ Redick start his tenure as the head coach, witnessed the Kings’ trusted buddy Anthony Davis getting traded in exchange for Luka Doncic. Somehow, all of that has worked out for them, and they now see themselves as a solid team entering the playoffs. But who could be their opponents? In reality, they could come up against a few solid teams.

The Lakers could end up against Denver, Golden State, to Minnesota. If you were to ask any LA fan to eliminate one of the three teams, the most obvious option would be Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. However, it’s funny how things work. That’s because, according to new developments, Los Angeles’s worst fear might just come true! This comes after reports of Ime Udoka going all out in the Rockets’ season finale against the Nuggets. The Houston head coach is all set to start the majority of his starters, including the likes of Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, and Alperen Sengun. You might wonder what that’s got to do with the Lakers.

Focus: Houston beats Denver, Minnesota gets the better of Utah, and LA Clippers win their game against Golden State. The equation changes. It may potentially turn the most heated first-round matchup with the LA Lakers against the Denver Nuggets. While Ime Udoka has stated that he is doing this because he doesn’t want his players to get rusty, Lakers Nation isn’t buying it. “We don’t want to take too much off and be rusty,” Udoka said before Wednesday’s matchup against the Clippers. However, LA fans believe that he and the Rockets have set the Lakers up because they don’t want to come up against the Nuggets in the first round.

It seems more so to be the case because, just two games prior, the Rockets had their entire roster listed as injured. But Sunday’s report just has one name on the list: Jae’Sean Tate, who is out due to a sore ankle. This makes LA’s case even stronger, and they aren’t quite pleased with Ime Udoka’s tactics. So much so that Lakers faithful have taken to social media to express their feelings. One fan believes that this is a clear trap for LA. “THEY SET THE LAKERS UP!!!” He wrote in disbelief. While it’s still a long shot that all the results are exactly the way that would match up to make the LA face Denver, the fans don’t want to take any chances. Also, there’s a lot of where this reaction came from.

Ime Udoka’s tactics send Lakers Nation into a frenzy

Both the Lakers and the Rockets enter the final day of the season without knowing their first-round opponents. That’s because spots 4 to 10 are still up for grabs. However, with Ime Udoka unleashing his full-strength lineup against a Denver team that will most likely look to rest its starters, things might not end in LA’s favor. Many fans believe it’s Houston’s way of trying to avoid a potential showdown with Nikola Jokic’s Denver. “Rockets trying to send the nuggets to do their dirty work for them because they scared of the Lakers lol.” A user suggested. He thinks that Ime Udoka is trying his best to avoid facing Denver in the very first round of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, another user pointed out that “They didn’t play their usual starters against the Lakers, but now they will play them against the Nuggets!” He’s correct. On Friday, LA hosted Houston and secured a blowout 140-109 win. While the Lakers played great, it was mostly because Houston rested the majority of its starters and also restricted the minutes of the other key players. Now, against Denver, they are going all-out. It doesn’t fit right with the Lakers faithful. One more fan joined in on this conversation. “Rockets did this on purpose, I think. Push Denver to play us in round 1. They’ll get a softer opponent regardless in round 2.” He suggests it might all be part of Ime Udoka’s plan, despite him stating other reasons for going with his regular lineup. Whom to believe? If you are a Laker, of course, it is a trap from your lens.

However, some are here to witness power-packed drama. “Honestly, I am not scared of them since we got Luka.” A user wrote. There seems to be a bit of optimism since LA has Luka Doncic and LeBron James by their side. Well, it’s not a guarantee that the Los Angeles Lakers will lock horns with the Denver Nuggets; They still might be able to get over them if it does happen. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how this last set of matches pans out. Moreover, we’ll finally have a clear picture of the Western Conference playoffs as everyone watches closely.