Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Picks and Predictions April 13th 2025

Lakers Wrap Regular Season vs. Blazers, Await First-Round Foe

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially locked in the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, and now all that’s left to do is wait. While their first-round playoff opponent won’t be determined until the final buzzer sounds across the league Sunday, the Lakers will close out their regular season in Portland against the Trail Blazers.

At 50-31, the Lakers have clinched their first 50-win campaign since 2020—the last time they avoided the play-in and the year they captured the NBA title.

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“It’s an accomplishment to win 50 games… and it’s a credit to our players,”

– Lakers head coach JJ Redick on the milestone in his first season.

Los Angeles is expected to rest its starters in Sunday’s finale, including Luka Doncic and LeBron James, who tweaked his leg Friday but appeared in good spirits, even pulling off a celebratory moonwalk on the sideline.

Doncic dropped 39 points in three quarters during Friday’s 140-109 rout of the Houston Rockets, showing off the MVP-level form that has made the Lakers a serious postseason threat.

“That’s gotta be the only goal… I think we have the team to do it,”

– Doncic on the Lakers’ championship aspirations.

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While the Lakers rest up for Round 1, the Trail Blazers (35-46) are wrapping up another year of rebuilding. Portland has dropped seven of its last 10 and played Friday without its top six scorers in a 103-86 loss to Golden State.

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“I thought our defense scrapped… I thought we tried to share the ball,”

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– Blazers coach Chauncey Billups on his shorthanded squad’s effort vs. the Warriors.

Jabari Walker led the way with 19 points, while rookie Donovan Clingan impressed with 14 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. Portland is expected to field a similar rotation Sunday as it tries to avoid being swept by the Lakers in all four meetings this season.

The Lakers have won all three matchups against the Blazers this year and should cruise to a fourth, even with a bench-heavy lineup.