Western Conference Standings Watch: Can Celtics Help Lakers?

With the Western Conference a tight-knit race yet again this season, this series will look at the standings and games to watch across the league as the Lakers look to secure home court and move up the standings.

With the Lakers currently on an eight-game winning streak and most of the teams around them losing games this week, they have begun to create separation from the rest of the West.

Add in that LA owns the tiebreaker over the Rockets, Wolves and Nuggets, and suddenly the No. 3 seed is looking like the position they can keep the rest of the way.

Here’s a look at the current playoff standings in the middle of the conference:
3. Lakers — 45-25, 10 GB
4. Wolves — 43-27, 12 GB
5. Rockets — 41-27, 13 GB
6. Nuggets — 42-28, 13 GB
7. Suns — 39-31, 16 GB

The Lakers being a couple of games ahead of their peers is a great spot to be in. If they can keep winning and get a little help from other teams beating the Wolves, Rockets and Nuggets, perhaps they can even wrap this up early.

Let’s take a look at the big games to watch around the league for the next couple of days and who Lakers fans should be rooting for.

Friday

Blazers at Wolves — Portland has won three of their last four, so maybe they can take that momentum and bring it out West and earn some wins. If they are going to upset Minnesota, they’ll likely need Deni Avdija to have a big game.

Hawks at Rockets — The Lakers just beat the Rockets in back-to-back games, dropping them down to the No. 5 seed in the West. Another loss on Friday, and they might fall to six.

Raptors at Nuggets — Toronto can prove their recent hot streak is legit by beating Denver on Friday. Brandon Ingram is playing some of his best basketball, scoring 36 against the Suns and 34 in a win over the Pistons. If he can do that against the Nuggets, perhaps they can help the Lakers out.

Saturday

Heat at Rockets — For some reason, the Heat seem to be a popular team to play on the second night of a back-to-back. The Lakers just faced them on Thursday, and Houston will play them in that same scenario on Saturday. Hopefully, Miami takes care of business in this one.

Bucks at Suns — With the Bucks trying to sit Giannis Antetokounmpo for the rest of the year, it’s unlikely they’ll beat the Suns on Saturday. The good news is that the Lakers are six games ahead of the Suns, so even if they win, they still have a ton of work to do before they are considered a threat to LA.

Sunday

Wolves at Celtics — Since the Wolves are the team closest to the Lakers, fans need to root for them to lose as much as possible. So, get ready to cheer for the Celtics on Sunday when they take on Minnesota.

Blazers at Nuggets — If the Nuggets lose this game, then maybe they’ll stay at the sixth spot and a Lakers-Nuggets first round series is what we’re going to see once again.

Raptors at Suns — Can Phoenix beat Toronto on the second night of a back-to-back, or will fatigue be a factor? Unless the Suns go on a run here, it seems they are destined to be the No. 7 seed and a part of the play-in.

Monday

Rockets at Bulls — Houston might be in a crisis right now, but they should still be able to beat Chicago.

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