Lakers Playoff Watch: 5 West Play-In Contenders Active Tonight
Your 34-36 Los Angeles Lakers must keep their minds on tonight's Dallas Mavericks bout and not on the comings and goings of the current Western Conference standings.
Easier said than done for a team that needs to nab as many of its next 12 games as possible down this season's home stretch.
Five West play-in tournament candidates are active tonight, and everyone will no doubt bring their A-game for a finite of slots among positions in 7-10.
Los Angeles currently sits at the ninth seed in the West. Not shabby for a sub-.500 club. The 35-35 Mavericks will play without All-Star guard Luka Doncic, and quite possibly without his All-Star point guard running mate Kyrie Irving. A Lakers victory would both bring the team that much closer to a .500 record, and more importantly would add another loss to the Mavericks' tally.
Elsewhere, the 31-38 Portland Trail Blazers will play the 48-22 Boston Celtics. On paper, this should be a "gimme" game, and easy romp for Boston. But in practice, this Celtics team has been on a bit of a skid lately, while Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard has been launching triples and hitting them at an extraordinary rate. Portland is currently the West's 13th seed, 2.5 games behind the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder by record.
D-Lo's last team, the 35-35 Minnesota Timberwolves, will play the lowly Chicago Bulls tonight in a game that on paper the Timberwolves should win. The 33-36 New Orleans Pelicans (now the conference 12th seed) will play the 17-52 Rockets, in what could be (hopefully) a trap game.
Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!
