Luka Doncic secures better playoff seed with Lakers than he ever had with Mavericks

The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a 140-109 drubbing of the Houston Rockets on Friday night, locking them in as the third seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs. Luka Doncic had an outstanding night, finishing with 39 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. It also gave JJ Redick an amazing 50 wins in his first season as a head coach, a fantastic accomplishment.

But the Lakers securing the third seed gives Doncic the best positioning he's ever had going into the playoffs. In six years with the Mavericks, his team only held homecourt advantage once in 2022 against the Utah Jazz when the Mavs were the 4th seed, but he was hurt for most of that series.

Apr 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) moves the ball against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Doncic took the Mavericks to the playoffs four times, and his teams were arguably the underdog in every single series they played in, yet they made it to the Western Conference in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024. He never had great teams around him in most of those series, like the 2022 team was starting Reggie Bullock and Dwight Powell, but he was able to get the most out of his teammates, which makes Nico Harrison's decision to trade him only more maddening.

Dallas had finally built a good team around Doncic this season, and despite all of the injuries, they could've made another run with how talented of a team they have. Naji Marshall and Klay Thompson were great additions to put with the team, and now they're missing the playmaking and scoring that Doncic brought to the table.

The Mavericks will instead limp into the Play-In Tournament to play the Sacramento Kings as either the 9 or 10 seed. They'll have to win two games just to make it into the playoffs. And their reward for doing that would be playing the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have one of the best Net Ratings in NBA history.

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