Tomahawk Tuesday: How should the Los Angeles Lakers approach the rest of the regular season?

                                             (Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The NBA restart season begins on Thursday with two games: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Utah Jazz followed by Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers. Both games will air on TNT with the Jazz and Pelicans tipping off first (6:30 PM EST). In case you are unfamiliar with the format, each of the remaining 22 teams will play eight seeding games and if the ninth seed in each conference is within four games of the eighth seed, then a play in series will be triggered. That's the skinny.

While some teams are fighting for their playoff lives or jockeying for position, the Lakers pretty much have the #1 seed in the Western Conference locked up. They need just two wins to clinch. This is overall a good position to be in as the Lakers can more or less view the eight seeding games as tune up games and bonus scrimmage games to get themselves back in shape. However, there is the challenge of balancing rest versus rust. Obviously, the Lakers want to make sure their players stay fresh for the playoffs, but given the amount of time guys have had off, they also don't want guys to get too rusty.

Personally, I think the Lakers should err on the side of avoiding rust. There are only eight seeding games to play and they still do need to clinch the top seed. If they had everything wrapped up right now, that might change things a bit. But, given that they still need to secure the top seed and the fact that the number of seeding games is so few, the Lakers should use these final games to establish a good rhythm and make sure they're all ready to go come playoff time. Opening up against the Clippers is a great way for them to get their juices flowing as the Clippers are one of the teams in the West that is seeking to topple them off their perch.

LeBron James is also a workhorse and rarely gets injured, so I think the Lakers should feel pretty confident in his ability to log significant minutes with little risk. The only guy who I might be cautious with is Anthony Davis. He has a fragile history and the Lakers would probably be wise to not overwork him. If there's a guy who they should be careful with and mindful of, it's Davis. If he goes down, their road to an NBA championship becomes a lot tougher.

Outside of that, it really should be all systems go for the Lakers. They have the top record out West and have the luxury to view these eight seeding games as additional tune ups. As we look at the Western Conference, they're definitely the team to beat.

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