Western Conference Standings Watch: Lakers can move past Warriors
Despite a frustrating weekend, the Lakers can move past Golden State and gain ground on the higher seeds if things break their way.
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 had a bitter weekend, losing to the Denver Nuggets for an eighth straight time, ruining the celebratory feeling of LeBron James joining the 40k points club.
To start this week, the Phoneix Suns find themselves in the thick of the play-in race, having lost two games in a row. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Devin Booker is expected to miss 7-10 days with an ankle injury, so they could drop even further than the seventh spot they currently hold.
Despite fans' frustrations with Los Angeles failing to beat Denver, the game was just one game. With a couple of wins and some help, the Lakers could move up in the standings.
Games to Watch
Monday
Bulls at Kings - The Kings are currently the sixth seed but have the same record as the Suns and are just two and a half games in front of the Lakers. If the Bulls can protect their homecourt and the Lakers beat the Thunder, they can cut that advantage by a full game.
Tuesday
Pacers at Mavericks - The Pacers are still a blistering offense with a 120.1 offensive rating, but their defense struggles and facing Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving probably won't help things. Dallas has lost their last two games, so hopefully, it will turn into three defeats in a row on Tuesday.
Suns at Nuggets - Ah, it's the Lakers' old friend, the Denver Nuggets. Fans will be rooting for a Denver win this time instead of fighting against one. With Booker out, the Suns will be behind from the jump, making it easier, on paper at least, for the Nuggets to come away with a win.
Wednesday
Bucks at Warriors - Thanks to the Celtics embarrassing the Warriors on Sunday with a 52-point win, the Lakers are just decimal points behind Golden State. If Giannis Antetokounmpo and company beat the Warriors, the Lakers could move up to ninth and create separation between their California rival.
Thursday
Heat at Mavericks - Winning eight of their last 10 games, Miami is heating up at the right time. With Dallas playing on a second night of a back-to-back, the Heat will have the edge and be favored to win.
Raptors at Suns - Even with Booker out, Toronto getting the better of Phoenix will be an uphill battle. Can Scottie Barnes have a big game and help the Lakers by beating the Suns on the road?
Bulls at Warriors - Just like the Lakers, for every impressive Warriors win, there is an equal or lesser loss. Will the Warriors reach those elite heights we've seen in spurts this season, or will they flounder and lose to a mediocre team from the East?
Spurs at Kings - Victor Wembanyama is fun to watch, but his play nor this roster is well-equipped to compete in the West. Lakers fans will have to hope the Kings are a disaster on Thursday and Wemby has another mind-boggling game with those ridiculous stats he's becoming famous for.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.