Lakers Standings Update: L.A. Locked Into Play-In Tournament Following Suns Win
LeBron James, Devin Booker, Lakers, Suns
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday night’s loss to the Golden State Warriors all but assured the Los Angeles Lakers’ fate as a Play-In Tournament team. That was officially locked in on Wednesday following the Phoenix Suns victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Both the Lakers and Warriors are locked into the Play-In Tournament and will be, at best, the seventh seed. More likely for the Lakers, however, will be either the ninth or tenth seed and one more meeting with the Warriors.

The Lakers are currently 0.5 games ahead of the Warriors but tied in the loss column and the Golden State has the tiebreaker advantage after winning the season series. As such, if the Warriors win their final three games, the Lakers will fall behind them and need to win two road games to qualify for the playoffs.

There is still a chance the Lakers could move up to the seventh or eighth seed, depending on how the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans do in their final three games. Sacramento has struggled recently after losing two key players to injury and has a difficult back-to-back coming up. If they lose two of their last three and the Lakers win out, they would jump ahead of the Kings.

But as is also the case with the Warriors, the Lakers also do not have the tiebreaker advantage against the Kings so a tie in the standings does not benefit them. Likewise, any sort of three-way tie involving the Lakers, Warriors and Kings would result in the Lakers being last of the three.

Regardless of anything else, the most important thing for the Lakers is for Anthony Davis to return to the court as the team loses so much when he isn’t available. The situation isn’t the best, but with a little help the Lakers could still put themselves in a better position to move up in the standings and only need one win to get out of the Play-In and make the playoffs.

Lakers standings update

5. Mavericks (50-30)

Upcoming schedule: vs. Pistons (April 12), @ Thunder (April 14)

6. Pelicans (47-32)

Upcoming schedule: @ Kings (April 11), @ Warriors (April 12), vs. Lakers (April 14)

7. Suns (47-33)

Upcoming schedule: @ Kings (April 12), @ Timberwolves (April 14)

8. Kings (45-34)

Upcoming schedule: vs. Pelicans (April 11), vs. Suns (April 12), vs. Trail Blazers (April 14)

9. Lakers (45-35)

Upcoming schedule: @ Grizzlies (April 12), @ Pelicans (April 14)

10. Warriors (44-35)

Upcoming schedule: @ Trail Blazers (April 11), vs. Pelicans (April 12), vs. Jazz (April 14)

Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!

You May Also Like

Lakers Are Becoming Confident, And Enjoying Each Other Doing So

“I always knew I could play defense,” Young told reporters after last…

Lakers News: Mitch Kupchak Says Nobody On Roster Is Off Limits

This summer might be the most important off-season in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers…

BREAKING: Mike D’Antoni Resigns As Head Coach Of Los Angeles Lakers

Please enable Javascript to watch this video Through all of the conflicting…

Despite Re-Signing With Thunder In Free Agency, Paul George Still Has ‘Love’ For Lakers Organization

After five years of rebuilding, it appeared Paul George was going to be the All-Star player the Los Angeles Lakers…