They have the lead and the best schedule going forward.
The bad news is that the Lakers will likely get the 4 or 5 seed. They will have two well-rested superstars and difficult to stop in the playoffs. I was hoping they would end up in the 3rd or 5th seed. I don’t think they will be able to catch the Clippers for the 3rd seed and I don’t see them dropping to the 6th seed. But, maybe they don’t want the Jazz in the 2nd round and they will sandbag to get the 6th seed. I think they have been stretching these two sitting out as long as they can because they want them well-rested. They can afford to do that and so can the Nets.
This weekend is a bit of a challenge. Jazz host Pacers on Thursday, then Friday play Lakers (who have Thursday off) in the Staples Center, then play Lakers again (same venue) on Sunday.
LA still missing LeBron and Anthony, but starting to play well in their absence.
(Did I mention at some point I somewhat dislike the Lakers?)
Just depends on who’s playing. If the Jazz are playing a decent team at full strength it’s 50/50. Record is way inflated by playing the difficult teams at less than fil strength.