Should Lakers be Worried About Home Court Advantage?

The Lakers are in danger of missing out on home-court advantage.

Mar 31, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots the ball during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers once had aspirations of vaulting all the way up to the second seed in the Western Conference. They were tied in that spot for a few days before they hit a rough patch.

As of now, the Lakers sit fourth in the Western Conference standings and are two and a half games behind the Rockets for the second spot. They were able to make up some ground after beating them on Monday night.

LeBron James and the rest of the team are trying to put together some more consistent basketball. They have been very up and down over the last couple of weeks.

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Everything is very condensed in the Western Conference standings. There is only a difference of five and a half games between the second spot and the eight spot in the West.

James understands that every game matters when everything is so bunched up. He has been following the standings after every game and mentioned that after beating the Rockets.

“This year in particular, it’s so close and people are jumping each other, falling behind, whatever the case may be,” James said about following the standings. “I don’t do it every day, but it’s talked about pretty much all the time and you kind of see where you’re at. For us obviously, our mission is to lock in a playoff spot and not have to play in the play-in. So, we understand what’s at stake.”

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If the Lakers want to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. In order to do that, they have to be at least fourth in the standings.

The Lakers are only three games out of the play-in, so they can't afford another slide like they had a week ago. They'd feel a lot better about their chances to make the Finals if they were the fourth seed.

While they feel good about the roster they have heading into the playoffs, they still have bouts of inconsistent play. That must be fixed if they want home-court.

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