Western Conference Standings Watch: The penultimate weekend

The Lakers have a good chance of earning a high seed in the West, if the teams surrounding them lose games this weekend.

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.

This is the second-to-last weekend of regular season action, and things are still airtight in the West. The good news for the Lakers is that they are in a good position and can still reach as high as the No. 2 seed. However, a few losses and certain teams winning and they can still fall to the play-in.

Here’s a look at the current playoff standings in the middle of the conference:

2. Rockets — 50-27
3. Nuggets — 47-30, 3 GB
4. Lakers — 46-30, 3.5 GB
5. Warriors — 45-31, 4.5 GB
6. Grizzlies — 44-32, 5.5 GB
7. Wolves — 45-32, 5.5 GB
8. Clippers — 45-32, 5.5 GB

With so many teams bunched up together, it makes the most sense for Lakers fans to monitor all teams 2-8 until some separation is made. There will be about as much attention paid to the Lakers’ seeding as there will be on their potential playoff opponent.

So, here are the matchups that Lakers fans should keep an eye on this weekend.

Friday

Thunder at Rockets — Houston can’t keep stacking up wins against under .500 teams anymore. They are 31-11 against losing teams, but will only play against teams above .500 the rest of the way. The Rockets have to play OKC without Dillon Brooks, who has been suspended for one game since he has earned a 16th technical foul.

Since the Thunder have yet to begin resting their guys, they’ll be favored to win this game.

Nuggets at Warriors — Insert the “Let them fight” meme for this one. The result will both hurt and help the Lakers, but with so many teams bunched up together, this won’t be the last time this happens over these next two weeks.

The Lakers have the tiebreaker outright over the Warriors and will own the tiebreaker over the Nuggets as long as they win their division.

Even if the Lakers lose the Pacific Division, they have a better record against the Western Conference, so they will still own the tiebreaker over Denver.

So, who should Lakers fans root for? Is there a way for both teams to lose?

Mavericks at Clippers — With the former Laker legend Anthony Davis playing, Dallas will have a solid chance of beating Los Angeles on Friday night. AD is coming off a game-winner over the Hawks and Dallas still has a lot to play for as they fight for a play-in spot.

The Clippers have their own elite big man in Ivica Zubac, and they’ve been campaigning for him to win Defensive Player of the Year already, wearing shirts in support of him.

With both teams having so much to play for, expect a highly competitive contest.

Saturday

Mavericks at Clippers — That’s right, Mavs-Clippers is a back-to-back affair. Lakers fans should be hoping for a Dallas sweep here as it takes Los Angeles and pushes them deeper into the play-in with little hope of joining the top six teams in the West.

Wolves at Sixers — With Philadelphia now having Tyrese Maxey out for the remainder of the season, the only way they’ll win this game is if Jalen Hood-Schifino scores 40 points in this game (editor’s note: he is capable of doing that).

Grizzlies at Pistons — Things are much more solidified standings-wise in the East. Detroit will likely either be the fifth or sixth seed and a win over Memphis gives them a chance of staying at the No. 5 spot.

The Grizzlies have been struggling, losing four straight games now. If they keep that up, when the dust settles, they may be in the play-in at the end of the year.

Sunday

Pacers at Nuggets — On paper, the Nuggets should win this game, but Lakers fans should be rooting for a Pacers upset in this game. Luckily, Denver will be on the road, so maybe Tyrese Haliburton can have a big game and help Los Angeles out.

Rockets at Warriors — Depending on how the rest of the weekend goes will decide if Lakers fans would rather have the Rockets or Warriors win this game. Currently, the Rockets are ahead of Los Angeles, but Golden State sits right next to Los Angeles.

If Golden State drops in the standings, perhaps it’ll be in the Lakers’ best interest for them to win so they can give Houston a loss.

If the No. 2 seed seems out of reach by Sunday, then perhaps Lakers fans should root for the Rockets to beat the Warriors so L.A. can remain above Golden State.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.