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The LA Lakers slipped to 10th in the cramped Western Conference standings on Thursday, falling behind the Golden State Warriors. LA has long since clinched a play-in tournament spot, meaning it can't drop further. However, with only two games remaining, it can no longer obtain a top-six seed and avoid the play-in.
The Lakers (45-35) are in a three-way tie with the eighth-seeded Sacramento Kings (45-35) and the ninth-placed Warriors (45-35). However, the Kings swept their season series 4-0. Meanwhile, LA lost its season series against the Warriors 3-1. So, it doesn't own the head-to-head tiebreaker against either team.
Additionally, the Lakers place third in their three-way tiebreaker, which is decided by the three teams' combined records in their matchups against each other. Their 1-7 mark against Sacramento and Golden State is the worst by a considerable margin. So, they need to finish with a better record than both to surpass them.
LA also has a remote chance of climbing to the No. 7 spot. It trails the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns (47-33) by 2.0 games with two remaining. Meanwhile, the Lakers own the tiebreaker over the Suns after winning their season series 3-2. So, if they finish 2-0 and Phoenix goes 0-2, they will tie, giving LA the edge.
However, with 3.0 games separating the Lakers from the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans (48-32), the No. 6 spot is out of reach.
So, the LA Lakers could finish anywhere from seventh to 10th. As the seventh or eighth seed, they would only require one play-in victory to advance to the playoffs. Meanwhile, a ninth or 10th-place finish means they would need to win two play-in games to make the playoffs.
LeBron James says full-strength LA Lakers can compete with any team
The LA Lakers' final play-in position may be undecided. However, according to Lakers superstar forward LeBron James, their positioning doesn't matter much, as they can challenge any team in the league at full strength.
James' co-star Anthony Davis missed Tuesday's 134-120 home loss to the Warriors due to a headache and nausea. After the game, James appeared unperturbed by the defeat, citing his squad's upside when the superstar big man is in the lineup.
“We know we're as good as any team in the league when we're whole — and when we're not, we're not,” James said. “It's hard for us to make up, especially having a guy like AD not playing. It's almost pretty much impossible to make up for what he provides for our ballclub, both offensively and defensively.”
Tuesday's loss marked the Lakers' second straight. However, they won nine of their last 10 games before that and have the NBA's sixth-best record since Feb. 1 (21-10).
LA already has more wins than last year's seventh-seeded team (43-39) that made the West finals with largely the same roster. So, if the Lakers' core is healthy come the postseason, they project to be a feisty veteran opponent.
