“You’re s— or you win a championship.” To me, it’s all pretty black and white.

After the Lakers’ 62nd loss of the 2015–16 season—their third consecutive season in which they set a franchise record for defeats in a season—and following his final NBA season, Kobe Bryant made those remarks. He made the argument that any season in which a team is unsuccessful is a waste.

Bryant went on, “Those are the same dаmn things to me, whether you set a franchise record for losses or you make it to the playoffs and lose in the Western Conference finals.” “That’s probably not something that many people get, and that’s okay, but to me, they’re all the same. So, you’re in the same situation as us or you win a championship.

Although that may sound exaggerated, the Lakers have consistently stated that’s how they do business. They don’t commemorate conference final appearances or hang banners for division winners. They claimed that they did not recognize their In-Season Tournament title in their arena’s rafters until the league put pressure on them to do so. Bryant’s best friend and former agent, general manager Rоb Pelinka, has made it clear time and time again that he operates under the same philosophy: any move that does not get the Lakers closer to a championship is not one that is worthwhile.

Therefore, the Lakers’ choice going into their NBA Play-In game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday is obvious: They should throw the game, if winning a championship is all that matters.

Indeed, in a true sense.

They can take a break, rest their best players, or even play a four-big tanking team to make up for actual ailments. Whatever method they choose, they must do it in order to stay away from the Denver Nuggets.

Does that sound like it would be against competition? Perhaps. However, the Lakers should take every precaution to increase their chances of winning a championship if the notion that a season without one is pointless is to be taken to its logical end.

What does not do that, do you know? A first-round matchup with the Nuggets, who swept them in the Western Conference Finals the previous season and have won eight straight games against Los Angeles, who seem to have no answers for likely three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, would allow them to claim a play-in postseason berth and the seventh seed.

Would it be prudent for the Lakers to play the Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings in a one-game, winner-take-all format, therefore forfeiting their chance to make the playoffs? Naturally. Would it be embarrassing if they succeeded—only to lose the ensuing play-in game and forfeit some very valuable playoff revenue gate revenues to the Buss family? Of course.

However, if the group genuinely solely evaluates itself based on whether it brings home a title or not, then let’s embrace our inner Paul Atreides, sip some distilled worm vоmit, and realistically chart the course for the future.

A victory over the New Orleans Pelicans and a first-round meeting with a team that has defeated them eight times straight with a potentially gimpy Anthony Davis—who was hurt in the team’s regular-season finale—are what lie behind Door No. 1. Considering how thoroughly Jokic has controlled that matchup inside while Jamal Murray alternatesly roasts their small guards on the outside, does anyone really believe that this Lakers team will win more than five games against Denver? I know I don’t, and this season I haven’t seen any evidence that suggests they could.

But what’s behind Door No. 2? For the opportunity to play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the one-eighth round, how about giving Davis and LeBron James an additional two days off before facing the struggling Sacramento Kings or the Golden State Warriors?

Although the Thunder are a young team that has won three straight games this season and appears to have clear matchup advantages around the rim, they still merit respect. If you win that series, you’ll either play the Dallas Mavericks, who seem like a better opponent for Los Angeles than Denver, or you’ll play the Los Angeles Clippers in your last game as co-tenants of Crypto.com Arena, giving you the chance to send them one last LeViction notice. Next, you’re in the Conference Finals, where you at least have a shot at winning against the Wolves or Suns, or you may hope for some good ιnjury luck.

Being booted out of the postseason by the Nuggets once more is an insult. If the Lakers lost another series badly, the same people who would make fun of or condemn them for avoiding Denver would do the same to them. Who cares if a title is really all that matters? The Lakers’ only option is to attempt to increase their odds.

It is important to remember that all of this is purely hypothetical. Since the Lakers seem to own the Pelicans, they are as rιsk-averse as any NBA team when it comes to embarrassment. They are unlikely to spit in the face of tradition and tuck tail against them in the hopes of winning on the other side of the bracket, or rιsk the ridicule that would accompany doing so and then losing to the Kings or Warriors. LeBron is unlikely to watch them (willingly) duck that controversy, and the Lakers, being elite athletes, most likely have enough self-respect to think they can defeat the Nuggets.

However, I don’t. Not the completely healthy variety, anyway. Therefore, if we’re being realistic, they have an easy choice to choose if this season is really title-or-bust: In order to go as far as possible before meeting a club they have little chance of beating in a series, they should rest the starters against New Orleans, take a chance in the second play-in game, and try their hardest to upset a Thunder squad against which they have matchup advantages.

Therefore, refer to it as ducking. Call it timidity. Just call it strategic, please. And the Lakers ought to agree if increasing their chances of winning a championship is really all that matters to them.