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.
It appears that the Lakers are peaking at the right time. They have won four straight games, doing so while beating top teams like the Wolves and opponents they are favored against, such as the Bulls.
Now, the Lakers find themselves with the third-best record in the West, a position they undoubtedly
want to keep.
Here’s a look at the current playoff standings in the middle of the conference:
3. Lakers — 41-25, 10.5 GB
4. Rockets — 40-25, 11 GB
5. Nuggets — 41-26, 11 GB
6. Wolves — 40-26, 11.5 GB
7. Suns — 39-27, 13 GB
LA’s next game will be a huge one as they take on Denver. If they win that contest, they’ll own the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, and considering how tight this Western Conference race is, that might matter.
Besides the Lakers winning their games, they need to keep an eye on their surrounding opponents and hope they lose as well, so they can begin building a gap between themselves and everyone else.
Let’s take a look at the big games to watch around the league for the next couple of days and who you should be rooting for.
Friday
Pelicans at Rockets — Despite their record, New Orleans isn’t a tanking team. They’ve won three of their last four games. Can they upset the Rockets and help the Lakers before Houston takes on LA next week?
Wolves at Warriors — With Steph Curry still out, Golden State hasn’t looked like the kind of team that can compete against Minnesota. That’s bad news for the Lakers.
Suns at Raptors — Toronto has been struggling as of late, losing four of their last five games. Meanwhile, the Suns have won four straight as they try to fight their way out of the play-in.
Phoenix will be favored at home, but perhaps former Laker Brandon Ingram can have a big game and pull off the upset.
Sunday
Wolves at Thunder — No team is playing better than Oklahoma City right now. Anthony Edwards is going to have to play his best game of the season if the Wolves are going to have a shot at winning this game. Minnesota will also be on the road in this game, making this matchup that much harder to win.
Monday
Suns at Celtics — With the Suns playing the Celtics on Monday, it’s in LA’s best interest for Boston to win and Phoenix to lose. So, yes, this is one of the rare instances that Lakers fans will be cheering for Boston to come out on top.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
