Western Conference Standings Watch: Lakers fall to tenth seed in the West

After a disappointing result against the Kings, the Lakers fall to the tenth and final play-in spot heading into the weekend.

With the Western Conference being a tight-knit race, this will be a twice-weekly series looking at the Western Conference standings and games to watch as the Lakers look to move back into the playoffs.

The Lakers had the season's most disappointing defeat, dropping a crucial game against the Kings on Wednesday.

The loss dropped them to tenth in the West while also giving the Kings the tiebreaker. Adding injury to insult, LeBron James' ankle bothered him so much that he exited the game early.

While the result was frustrating for the Lakers and their fans, there is still more basketball to play and games that directly impact their position in the standings.

Games to Watch

Saturday

Mavericks at Pistons — Depending on the Pistons winning a game for you seems like a miserable experience. That's exactly what fans will do early on Saturday as the Pistons host the Mavericks in Detroit. Dallas has been struggling lately, losing three in a row, but playing Detroit makes it unlikely there will be a fourth consecutive defeat.

Celtics at Suns — The Boston Celtics helped the Lakers last weekend by shellacking the Warriors in primetime, serving them a 52-point loss. They don't need to do that on Saturday; they just need to beat a Devin Booker-less Suns team on the road for it to help Los Angeles.

Spurs at Warriors — Similar to rooting for the Pistons to win, the Spurs aren't much better. They are currently 13-49 and more focused on getting Victor Wembanyama wisdom than wins in his rookie campaign. Can they beat the Warriors on Saturday? I mean, it's possible but not probable.

Sunday

Rockets at Kings - Sunday won't be much easier for fans as they'll go from rooting for the Warriors to the Houston Rockets when they play the Kings on the road. The Rockets are a young, energetic team, but they're just playing out the rest of the season at this point. The Kings, on the other hand, are pushing to be the best version of themselves, which the Lakers just witnessed first-hand on Wednesday.

It'll take an improbable performance from the Rockets to beat the Kings, but they almost got that done this week against the Clippers when they were up by 20 before blowing that lead and ultimately losing the game in the fourth. Maybe, against the Kings, they can gain a lead and hold onto it to help the Lakers regain some of the ground they've lost.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.