Western Conference Standings Watch: The penultimate weekend

We have just ten days of NBA action left and the Lakers are still ninth in the West, but the gap above them is shrinking.

With the Western Conference being a tight-knit race, this will be a twice-weekly series looking at the Western Conference standings and games to watch as the Lakers look to move back into the playoffs.

The Lakers did everything they could to climb up the West standings. Their stars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, played in back-to-back games and they defeated the Wizards and Raptors on the road, ending their trip with five wins and one loss.

To gain ground on teams, though, they need their competition to drop games, and that hasn’t happened enough for the Lakers to jump up to eight.

There has been movement in the play-in with the teams in front of Los Angeles. The Suns have moved out of the play-in and the Pelicans are now sitting at the seventh spot.

With the end of the season approaching and so many games impacting the Lakers, why miss any of the action? NBA League Pass is currently on sale for the low price of $14.99 you can make sure you don’t miss any of the action.

Here are the upcoming games that have standing implications for the Lakers.

Games to Watch

Thursday

Kings at Knicks — The Knicks have been on a slump, losing three straight games, and with Julius Randle officially out for the rest of the season, they need some wins to secure a top-four finish in the East.

Beating Sacramento at home would not only help them but also put the Lakers just a half-game back of the eighth seed.

Warriors at Rockets — It’s the battle at the bottom, with Houston and Golden State fighting for the tenth and final play-in spot. The Warriors have it all but secured being three games up on the Rockets, but a win on Thursday would bury Houston once and for all.

Friday

Spurs at Pelicans — New Orleans Pelicans, welcome to the play-in! Lakers fans will be rooting for a monster Victor Wembanyama performance to dig New Orleans deeper into trouble. Only a game and a half currently separates the Lakers from the Pelicans.

Warriors at Mavericks — Can Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić do the Lakers a solid and beat the Warriors? It doesn’t seem like a tough task, as Dallas is playing some of its best basketball and the Warriors will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

Kings at Celtics — Rooting for the Celtics? Technically, a Celtics win is in Los Angeles’ best interest. These are the kinds of situations you find yourself in when you don’t take care of business yourself. You end up needing to ask for favors from people you don’t want to be in debt to.

Sunday

Warriors at Jazz — Go ahead and root for Utah, but don’t expect much. They are in tank mode and have lost ten straight.

Kings at Nets — Kings continue their road trip making a stop at Brooklyn. The Lakers just played the Nets and while the team is giving a hard effort, they aren’t very good. A win by the Nets will be tough, but not impossible. This late in the season, every now and then, a weaker team surprises you and spoils your postseason hopes just a little. Maybe the Nets can do that on Sunday against the Kings.

Pelicans at Suns — This is a big matchup for both teams. Pelicans want to climb out of the play-in, Suns want to stay out of it. With Phoenix currently at sixth and Pelicans at seventh, this could change where each team sits at the end of the weekend. Lakers fans should cheer for the Pelicans to lose as they are closer to the Lakers in the standings. They have lost three straight and flat-out, and they do not have the firepower of stars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.