Western Conference Standings Watch: A photo finish awaits
With six teams fighting for playoff seeding in the West, here is a list of all the games Lakers fans need to monitor this week.
With the Western Conference being a tight-knit race, this will be a series looking at the standings and games to watch as the Lakers look to secure home court and move up the standings.
The Lakers split their games between the Thunder, beating them on Sunday and losing on Tuesday. Los Angeles has three games left to play and is in the driver’s seat for the third seed in the West.
They still have work to do to earn the No. 3 spot, needing to win two of their last three games.
2. Rockets — 52-27
3. Lakers — 48-31, 4.0 GB
4. Clippers — 47-32, 5.0 GB
5. Nuggets — 47-32, 5.0 GB
6. Warriors — 47-32, 5.0 GB
7. Grizzlies — 47-32, 5.0 GB
8. Wolves — 46-33, 6.0 GB
Everyone has three games left, so if L.A. takes care of business, no one can jump in front of them in the standings. However, if the teams below them lose games, that does make things easier and maybe they can secure the third seed even sooner.
So, here are the matchups that Lakers fans should keep an eye on during the rest of this week.
Wednesday
Rockets at Clippers — With the Rockets now cemented as the No. 2 seed, Lakers fans should be rooting for them to beat the Clippers on Wednesday. The question is, will Houston actually play their guys for this game? Currently, Alpern Şengün is listed as questionable, so we’ll see if he suits up.
The Clippers have been rolling, winning their last five games, so even if the Rockets play at full strength, it’s been difficult to beat the other Los Angeles basketball team recently.
Nuggets at Kings — The Nuggets are falling apart. They fired both head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth on Tuesday, which isn’t something you do if you like the direction of your franchise.
Hopefully, the Kings can take advantage and the Nuggets don’t have a dead cat bounce on Wednesday.
Spurs at Warriors — Having to root for the Spurs is not a great place to be in 2025. The Warriors have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since trading for Jimmy Butler, so don’t expect an upset in this one. Golden State has everything to play for, and San Antonio is only here due to contractual obligations.
Thursday
Wolves at Grizzlies — Since both teams cannot lose, this result will hurt and help. Considering the Wolves are behind by one more game, Minnesota winning is likely the best result for Los Angeles. It would add another loss to Memphis’ record, and currently, the Wolves are a bit further away from the Lakers.
Friday
Clippers at Kings — Hoping the Clippers lose is an easy thing to ask Lakers fans to do. They will be in that position again on Friday when Sacramento plays Los Angeles.
The Kings have had a rough year, but they are in the play-in and with their trio of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, they can win this game.
Grizzlies at Nuggets — Entering Wednesday, the Nuggets and Grizzlies have identical records, so who Lakers fans should root for will likely shift before Friday’s game kicks off.
Both teams recently fired their head coaches, and each franchise seems to be in a tough spot. So, who comes in with any kind of momentum is anybody’s guess.
Warriors at Blazers — Maybe Portland will relish ruining Golden State’s race to the postseason and can pull off the upset. It’s hard to imagine them having enough talent and quality to beat Steph Curry and the Warriors this late into the year, though.
Nets at Wolves — Brooklyn Nets fans get angry on social media when they win games because it ruins their lottery odds. It’s been that kind of year for the Nets. Check the score every 30 minutes or so, but I wouldn’t suggest committing two eyes to this game for multiple hours.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.