Editor’s note: This is the Monday March 28 edition of the Purple & Bold Lakers newsletter from reporter Kyle Goon. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

The Lakers losing a 23-point lead isn’t the most talked about slap in the face from the weekend, but it sure left them reeling:

WEEK IN REVIEW

Monday, W, Lakers 131, Cleveland Cavaliers 120

Wednesday, L, Philadelphia 76ers 126, Lakers 121

Sunday, L, New Orleans Pelicans 116, Lakers 108

The Lakers (31-43) are 10th in the Western Conference standings, 29.5 games behind the first-place Phoenix Suns (61-14). They are 4.5 games behind the No. 8 Clippers (36-39) for a double-elimination spot in the play-in tournament. They are a half-game behind the No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans (32-43) for home court advantage in the single-elimination play-in game, and they are one game ahead of the No. 11 San Antonio Spurs (30-44) who are currently out of the play-in tournament.

HIGH POINT: The start of the week saw the Lakers play as good a game as they ever have without Anthony Davis in Cleveland on Monday. Russell Westbrook was efficient, the Lakers had 34 assists and LeBron James topped it all with a 38-point triple-double. It was the Lakers’ second road win in three games, and it seemed like the slightest bit of hope was bubbling up through the cracks of an otherwise torn-down season.

LOW POINT: A lot of that hope was dashed by a disastrous third quarter in New Orleans on Sunday, in which they were outscored 41-25 and squandered a 20-point halftime lead. But the worst development, besides losing what could be a critical tiebreaker with the Pelicans, was that James got hurt. He slumped in his postgame interview, cradling his head in his hand and looking very much like a man poised to miss time.

TRENDING TOPIC: It’s time to nitpick schedules. With only eight games remaining, the Lakers have to beat out either the Pelicans or the Spurs to keep their spot in the play-in, and it’s starting to look tough. However, though the Lakers have six games remaining against top 6 opponents, it’s possible that some upcoming opponents may be resting.

Let’s walk through every remaining Lakers opponent and what might be at stake for each game:

March 29 at Dallas: The Mavericks are fighting for homecourt in a potential match-up with the Jazz at the 4-5 spot. Luka Doncic hurt his elbow in their game Sunday against Utah, but hard to get more unambiguous than how Reggie Bullock put it to local press: ““The priority is obviously having home-court advantage. We need the city behind us.”

March 31 at Utah: The Jazz have now lost four straight, and the Lakers traditionally have the upper hand in the match-up (but that’s with a healthy LeBron James). Bojan Bogdanovic has been out with injury, and Rudy Gobert missed Sunday’s game with a leg bruise. If James can play on Thursday, this may be one of the Lakers’ best chances to win on the road down the stretch. But the Jazz are also trying to fight for home court in the first round.

April 1 vs. New Orleans: It’s rough to get a team that just dropped you on the second night of a back-to-back. You have to question James’ availability for this one based on his ankle and his knee lately on short rest. The Pelicans obviously have all the motivation to win this and stay in ninth.

April 3 vs. Denver: The Nuggets sit a game-and-a-half ahead of Minnesota for No. 6, which is the last spot to avoid the play-in tournament. That’s a lot of motivation to win, even though it has been suggested they might prefer to stay in the 6 seed against fading Golden State instead of playing the Jazz or Mavericks. The last time the Lakers played Denver, it was the worst loss of the season that James wound up apologizing for on social media. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are missing key pieces who may be looking to make a return in the last stretch of the season.

April 5 at Phoenix: This is where you can start wondering what opponents might rest. Phoenix has long since clinched the top overall seed in the West. The Suns have a way of just churning out wins effortlessly, and perhaps Anthony Davis’ comments a few weeks ago still sting, but in terms of stakes, Phoenix has nothing left to earn. Chris Paul was out for a while, but now he’s back, and he may be looking to get in rhythm more before the postseason.

April 7 at Golden State: At the moment, the Warriors don’t have the luxury of being able to cruise to the end of the regular season. They’re 5-10 in their last 15 games, and Steve Kerr has resorted to changing the starting lineup to figure it out. Steph Curry has been out for a bit which has a lot to do with their struggles; while Kerr may look for rest for some of his veterans, Curry may also need to get in rhythm again before the playoffs.

April 8 vs. Oklahoma City: A must-win on the Lakers’ schedule. It’s the team’s last home game, and the Thunder are tanking with half the roster on the injury report on any given night (Josh Giddey and Lu Dort are among those out for the season).

April 10 at Denver: It’s very possible Michael Malone decides to rest everyone in the last game of the year. He has done it before against the Lakers in 2020.

Go ahead and drink in that slate, because it seems more and more likely that the roller coaster of the Lakers’ season may not let up until the very end.

New Orleans’ very easy finish: at Portland, at Lakers, at Clippers, at Kings, Portland, at Memphis, Golden State.

San Antonio’s less easy finish: at Houston, Memphis, Portland, Portland, at Denver, at Minnesota, Golden State, at Dallas.

Reminder: If the Lakers wind up tied at 10th with either the Pelicans or the Spurs, they won’t make the play-in due to tiebreakers. The head-to-head with the Pelicans (2-0) is already set. While the Lakers tied the season series with the Spurs (2-2), San Antonio has a significant lead in conference wins with a 20-24 record to the Lakers’ 16-28.

READ OF THE WEEK: We were able to check in with Carmelo Anthony, who at 37 isn’t ready to talk about retirement. His performance has bred optimism that he might be able to contribute beyond this season.

HEATING UP: A so-so game in New Orleans notwithstanding, it’s hard not to give Russell Westbrook some props for his recent play. In the three games: 20.7 ppg, 8.3 apg (with 3.7 turnovers), 7.0 rpg on 51% shooting including six 3-pointers. He’s attacked the rim confidently and relatively efficiently, and he’s made defenses pay for challenging him to shoot open threes. He helped give the Lakers a chance Wednesday against Philadelphia. There’s always a little chaos when it comes to Westbrook, but the key is getting more out of the good parts of his game than the bad.

COOLING DOWN: It’s not exactly fair to pick on Austin Reaves, who has played as competently as one could hope for an undrafted rookie and has been scrappy on the defensive end. But he’s struggled to help space the floor on offense, which is a big shortcoming for a player meant to compliment James and Westbrook. Reaves was just 6 for 17 in the last week from the floor, and while his playmaking (13 assists in three games) helps make up for it, his shooting struggles have to make the Lakers at least consider how the starting lineup looks going forward. During his 78 minutes this week, the Lakers were outscored by 34 points.

INJURY REPORT: As of Monday morning, we’re waiting to hear the latest on LeBron James after he twisted his ankle in New Orleans. Anthony Davis is still on the comeback trail from his foot sprain, working out in Friday’s practice but not in contact work. Talen Horton-Tucker (left ankle sprain) and Dwight Howard (groin/hip soreness) both played through discomfort yesterday. Frank Vogel sowed some doubt that Kendrick Nunn will be able to come back this year, saying he needs to be cleared via MRI before even beginning practice. That die seems cast at this point.

QUOTABLE: Malik Monk was asked if the latest loss in New Orleans felt different than some of the other disappointments the Lakers have had this year: “About the same, man. All of them suck, man. All the losses like this suck, especially when you had the lead like this.”

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: It’s all about injuries. Does LeBron James play? His body language on Sunday night suggested an air of defeat: He’s already been playing through injury, and he acknowledged the latest one is “pretty nasty” to his left ankle. Sprained ankles can take weeks to recover from, so it’s tough asking James to do it in two days. The otherX factor is Anthony Davis, who hasn’t graduated to contact practice yet. It’s hard to see him come back this week based on where his recovery has been reported so far, but any games the Lakers can get him back could be huge as the season winds down.

COMING UP (All times PT)

Tuesday, at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. (TNT)

Thursday, at Utah, 7 p.m. (TNT)

Friday, New Orleans, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

Sunday, Denver, 12:30 p.m. (ABC)

– Kyle Goon

Editor’s note: Thanks for reading the Purple & Bold Lakers newsletter from reporter Kyle Goon. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

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