The Los Angeles Lakers have been playing their best basketball of the 2023-24 season as of late as they recently went 5-1 on their road trip and followed it up with a four-game winning streak.
However, the Lakers’ good fortunes came to a halt when they hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves. While Los Angeles is fighting to get out of the Play-In Tournament, Minnesota is jockeying for the number one seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers came into the night shorthanded after LeBron James was ruled out with flu-like symptoms. However, they were dealt another blow mid-game when Anthony Davis was hit in the eye and ruled out for the remainder of the night. Los Angeles would end up getting blown out by Minnesota, dropping them back down to the ninth seed in a loaded Western Conference.
The Lakers were briefly tied with the Sacramento Kings for the eight seed before the latter blew out the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the day. Sacramento owns the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, so the purple and gold would likely need to win out to have a chance to leapfrog the Kings.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have a chance to close the gap between them and the Lakers as they play their series finale on Tuesday. L.A. currently has a 1.5 game lead over Golden State, so the pressure’s on for both squads in their fourth and final meeting of the season.
Following the Warrior game, the Lakers will hit the road for their final two games of the regular season. They’ll kick things off against a Memphis Grizzlies team that has nothing to play for. However, Sunday could carry numerous playoff standing implications as the New Orleans Pelicans could be in a position to move up to the six seed and avoid the Play-In Tournament entirely.
With only three games remaining, the Lakers can’t afford to mess around so hopefully James and Davis will be back in the lineup as soon as Tuesday.
Lakers standings update
5. Mavericks (48-30)
Upcoming schedule: @ Hornets (April 9), @ Heat (April 10), vs. Pistons (April 12), @ Thunder (April 14)
6. Suns (46-32)
Upcoming schedule: vs. Clippers (April 9) @ Clippers (April 10), @ Kings (April 12), @ Timberwolves (April 14)
7. Pelicans (46-32)
Upcoming schedule: @ Trail Blazers (April 9), @ Kings (April 11), @ Warriors (April 12), vs. Lakers (April 14)
8. Kings (45-33)
Upcoming schedule: @ Thunder (April 9), vs. Pelicans (April 11), vs. Suns (April 12), vs. Trail Blazers (April 14)
9. Lakers (45-33)
Upcoming schedule: vs. Warriors (April 9), @ Grizzlies (April 12), @ Pelicans (April 14)
10. Warriors (42-35)
Upcoming schedule: @ Lakers (April 9), @ Trail Blazers (April 11), vs. Pelicans (April 12), vs. Jazz (April 14)
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