I recently wrote an article about the chances of the Los Angeles Lakers overtaking the San Antonio Spurs for the top seed in the west, and after the Spurs' third consecutive loss those odds have greatly improved.
San Antonio is currently reeling due to the loss of forward Tim Duncan to a severely sprained ankle, and to compound matters they also lost guard Manu Ginobili to a thigh injury in their loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.
The Spurs are now four games ahead of the Lakers with nine games left to play, and although the top seed may be firmly within the Lakers' reach, would they be better served by settling for the number two seed?
Some fans have expressed reservations about the Lakers claiming the west's top seed, and most of those doubts concern a potentially harder road to the NBA Finals.
If the playoffs started today the Lakers would face the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, and either the Dallas Mavericks or the Portland Trail Blazers if they advance past the Hornets.
The Spurs would play the Grizzlies in the first round, and a win would mean a semifinals matchup with either the Denver Nuggets or the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Charting potential playoff opponents can be a tricky proposition since performances in the regular season usually do not mean much in the playoffs, but I can understand why some Lakers fans would prefer the second seed.
The Lakers defeated the Hornets last night for their 15th victory in 16 games and their seventh-straight win overall, but more importantly they swept the season series with the Hornets.
New Orleans does not match up very well with the Lakers' size up front, and their situation was made more desperate with the announcement that forward David West was lost for the season due to a knee injury.
The prospects of the Hornets beating the Lakers in a seven game series with a healthy West were slim to begin with, and expecting them to do it without him is unrealistic.
The Lakers have traditionally done very well against Portland and Dallas in the postseason, and many fans would prefer to see one of those teams in the second round, as opposed to the Thunder or Nuggets.
That path does seem to be the one of less resistance, but at this time of the season, is that what you should really want?
The Lakers benefitted greatly from a tough first-round matchup with the Thunder last season, and they learned some crucial things about themselves that helped them later on.
Center Andrew Bynum was injured against the Thunder, but he earned newfound respect from Lakers fans by finding the strength to play through it.
The Lakers' ability to close out the scrappy Thunder on Pau Gasol's stunning putback in Game 6 may have been the inspiration Ron Artest needed to do the same thing to the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers' journey through the 2010 postseason prepared them for their epic Finals series with the Boston Celtics, and it may be better to see them pass some tests early rather than fail them when it matters the most.
Some fans feel that the Lakers focus should be on catching the Chicago Bulls and maintaining their lead over Boston and Miami in the standings should home-court advantage become a factor in the this year's Finals.
The Bulls currently have only a half-game lead over the Lakers in the NBA standings so that is a reasonable goal, but as Derek Fisher said after Sunday night's win over the Hornets, the Lakers' main focus is maintaining momentum.
The Lakers just happen to be peaking at the right time, and if they do manage to keep winning, the issue of who earns the number one seed in the west may take care of itself.
Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott Mia Kirshner Elisabeth Röhm
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