With the Western Conference a tight-knit race yet again this season, this series will look at the standings and games to watch across the league as the Lakers look to secure home court and move up the standings.
These are the good times. All the teams below the Lakers have lost games recently, and when you mix that with LA currently on a six-game winning streak, that’s how you end up with the purple and gold at the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference.
Here’s a look at the current playoff standings
in the middle of the conference: 3. Lakers — 43-25, 10 GB 4. Rockets — 41-26, 11.5 GB 5. Nuggets — 41-27, 12 GB 6. Wolves — 41-27, 12 GB 7. Suns — 39-29, 14 GB
Despite the Lakers’ current top form, a bad week would be all it would take for them to drop back down again. So, they are far from out of the woods just yet.
Let’s take a look at the big games to watch around the league for the next couple of days and who Lakers fans should be rooting for.
Tuesday
Sixers at Nuggets — Can Quentin Grimes generate enough offense to give Denver some problems?
Probably not, but that’s the path toward a Sixers upset against the Nuggets. With Philadelphia fighting to rise in the Eastern Conference rankings, the good news is they also have plenty to play for, and this won’t be a tanking situation for them.
Perhaps the competitive fire and some Andre Drummond rebounds will be enough for the Sixers to come away with a victory.
Suns at Wolves — Who Lakers fans should root for in this one is tough since they need both teams to drop as many games as possible.
The Wolves are closer to the Lakers in the standings, but LA owns the tiebreaker over Minnesota. While the Suns are further back, they won the season series over the Lakers, so perhaps it’s best that they lose and stay in the play-in spot.
On the bright side, someone has to drop this game, and LA will benefit.
Wednesday
Nuggets at Grizzlies — Memphis is tanking so hard even Utah is blushing. Yes, it’s the second night of a back-to-back for Denver, but it’s hard to imagine that’s going to be enough of a reason for the Grizzlies to win a game.
Jazz at Wolves — With Minnesota recently struggling, facing the Jazz is just what they need to look good and earn a win. Lakers fans might just want to skip both of these Wednesday games.
Thursday
Suns at Spurs — San Antonio is the hottest team in the NBA right now, having won 18 of their last 20 games. Given that they’ll be at home on Thursday against the Suns, Phoenix isn’t likely to come out of this one with a win.
Catching the Spurs is virtually impossible for the Lakers. So, watching them beat the Suns will be a welcome sight for Lakers fans.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
