NEWS FLASH:Skip Bayless makes surprising prediction for hypothetical Lakers-Nuggets playoff rematch…

On Sunday afternoon, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture with a road win over the New Orleans Pelicans, whom they will face in just 48 hours in the Play-In game, with the winner moving on to face the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs andOn Sunday afternoon, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture with a road win over the New Orleans Pelicans the loser getting one more chance to avoid elimination. The Lakers have struggled with inconsistency for much of the season, but James and his teammates have stepped on the throttle in recent weeks, assuring that Los Angeles will have at least two chances to win one game and qualify for the playoffs.

Of course, those same Nuggets sent the Lakers home in an unceremonious four-game sweep in last year’s Western Conference Finals, leaving some to speculate if Los Angeles should possibly purposefully lose the game on Tuesday and try to win the following one.This would put them in a far more favorable matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Skip Bayless, a sports media presenter for FS1, is not one of them.

“If the Lakers “had to” play Denver in the first round, I’m picking the Lakers this time. “If LeBron can’t close, Austin Reaves will,” Bayless tweeted on his account on X, the social media platform that was previously called Twitter.

What should the Lakers prefer?

Of course, the general consensus is that the Lakers should try to win at all costs on Tuesday so that they don’t face a “win or go home” scenario against either the Golden State Warriors or the Sacramento Kings–two teams that annihilated Los Angeles in 2023-24–on Friday evening from the Crypto.com Arena.

However, there is something to be said for a prospective Lakers playoff game with the Oklahoma City Thunder, whom the Lakers trounced throughout the regular season and whose youth, inexperience, and lack of interior size make them appear to be an easier postseason opponent than the Nuggets.