The Warriors watched Lionel Messi in action a day before the Lakers' clash.
The Golden State Warriors superstars Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler had an outing with the rest of their teammates in Los Angeles, a day before their clash against the Lakers. The Warriors, who are set to play their last of the six-game road-trip, were in attendance at the Los Angeles FC’s clash in the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter final at BMO Stadium.
LAFC was set to lock horns with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, and it turned out to be a star-studded affair. Curry, Butler along with other Warriors teammates were present in the stadium to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner in action. Notably, both Butler and Curry have been ardent followers of soccer. While Butler is friends with Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr., Curry holds great admiration for Lionel Messi.
The former Miami Heat forward enjoys other sports, including tennis as well. Following his trade to the Warriors, he attended Carlos Alcaraz’s Qatar Open clash against veteran Marin Cilic and smashed a few points against the World No. 3.
Coming back to the Warriors’ forthcoming game, they are on a three-game winning streak, and would wish to end the road trip with a victory. The Lakers, on the other hand, have won two games back to back and would aim to make the count three.
A total of seven regular-season games remain for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have found their way back to the third spot in the West following a few rough matches. The Warriors, on the other hand, secure a playoff tiebreaker over the Memphis Grizzlies and moved to fifth.
This is the fourth time both teams will be up against each other in the ongoing season. Looking back at the last three games, the Lakers have maintained one-sided dominance over the rivals and lead the tally 3-0.
Speaking about the upcoming game, if the Warriors end up losing they will tie with be tied with the Timberwolves, the Clippers, and the Grizzlies with 44-32 record in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth spot. Needless to say, the real race is between these four spots.
On the other hand, the Lakers have a tough schedule ahead, where they clash against the Thunder, which they will most probably end up losing. So, if they lose the upcoming game, the current standings might look completely different in the matter of a few games. The Lakers will drop down to the eighth spot, which would lead them to clash against the Thunder in the first round, a nightmare any team wouldn’t want.
They would aim to avoid locking horns with the Thunder until the Western Conference Finals. Hence, they need to be in the third seed, or if they can’t they must avoid 4th and 5th seed, to avoid meeting Oklahoma in the second round. The Lakers who last won the championship in 2020, will aim putting an end to their five-season long drought. For that, they need to avoid meeting Thunder before the West Finals and land anywhere between 3rd, or 6th, or 2nd, or 7th in the standings.
Moreover, if the Lakers end up in these spots, and the Thunder exit the playoffs before the West Finals with an upset, it will be a smooth journey for the LeBron James and Co. It is because the 17-time Champions can defeat anyone except the Thunder, unless some big injury or simply a miracle.
Hence, both teams would aim to avoid the defeat as it might end up changing the entire scenario for them, heading into the playoffs.
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