The Los Angeles Lakers are currently gearing up for the NBA playoffs, which are slated to start on Saturday evening with a game against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers avoided the play-in tournament for the second straight year this season after participating in it in both 2023 and 2024.
One person who is happy to have avoided that fate is Lakers star LeBron James, who recently spoke on his excitement for watching the festivities during a recent episode of his “Mind The Game” podcast with Steve Nash.
“I am happy because, being a participant of the f****** play-in for some years, that I get to sit back on my couch with my wine, knowing I don’t have to play until the weekend. Sit there and just enjoy. I’ll have one iPad with golf on and the other one with the play-in. I will just be so excited,” said James, per Mind The Game on X, formerly Twitter.
James will need all of the rest he can get ahead of this weekend, when he will be tasked with trying to turn back the clock to the 2018 version of himself and carry the Lakers without both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the lineup. It’s possible that Doncic could return at some point during this series, but the Lakers will need to find a way to get at least one of the first two games in front of their home fans in order to give themselves a realistic chance.
The NBA play-in tournament will kick off on Tuesday evening with a game between the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat at 7:30 pm ET. The Lakers’ playoff run will start on Saturday evening at 8:30 pm ET against Houston.
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently gearing up for the NBA playoffs, which are slated to start on Saturday evening with a game against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers avoided the play-in tournament for the second straight year this season after participating in it in both 2023 and 2024.
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