Western Conference Standings Watch: Lakers making another push?

The Lakers keep dancing with the Warriors in the 9/10 spot, but heading into the weekend, they have the ninth spot in hand.

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 are back in the ninth spot like they never left.

A win against the Atlanta Hawks, combined with the Golden State Warriors' loss to the Knicks, put the Lakers back in ninth. If it were all done right now, they’d be hosting the play-in game instead of playing it on the road at Golden State.

They got the help they needed but they must continue stacking wins to separate themselves from the Warriors and potentially move up in the standings.

Here are all the games fans need to watch that can impact the Lakers’ position in the standings.

Games to Watch

Thursday

Jazz at Mavs — These two teams are polar opposites. Dallas has found a nice groove, winning two in a row and six of their last seven, while Utah has lost three in a row and six of their last seven. The Jazz are essentially just playing out the rest of the season, so a win will be an uphill battle. Maybe this can be a trap game scenario and the Jazz can surprise the Mavs? That’s probably just wishful thinking at this point.

Hawks at Suns — The Lakers just pummeled the Hawks on Monday and one reason they did is because Atlanta is not good. Can they pull off the upset against a Phoenix team that has Kevin Durant and is trying to hit their stride before the playoffs start? It’s unlikely, but the Lakers need the help to close the three-game gap between the two teams.

Friday

Pacers at Warriors — The Knicks helped the Lakers this week and now the Pacers have to do the same on Friday. Indiana has a high-powered offense, so expect many points and hope for a Golden State loss to ensure the Lakers don’t fall to tenth.

Saturday

Suns at Spurs — Easy Suns win? Think again! San Antonio has won both matchups against Phoenix this season and can guarantee the regular-season series win if they win on Saturday. Those wins were very early in the season, but with Victor Wembanyama at the helm, the Spurs are always a threat to upset someone.

Sunday

Warriors at Timberwolves — This is a good matchup for the Lakers. Minnesota is a top team and Golden State continues to meander in mediocrity, just like Los Angeles. With the Timberwolves at home and still fighting for the top seed, this game can easily go in the Lakers’ favor.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.