After momentarily falling out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are right back in it thanks to their 106-97 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
NBA playoff picture: Lakers back in No. 8 in West, Spurs give Thunder opening
With their win over the Magic, the Lakers moved back into the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. At the top, the Spurs’ loss gives the Thunder a chance to get back within a game of the No. 1 seed.
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The Lakers sit one-half game ahead of the Utah Jazz, and both teams will be in action on Wednesday. The Lakers will be in Atlanta to visit the Hawks, while the Jazz have a tough road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Los Angeles could potentially move up to the seventh seed depending on the outcome of both its game and the Houston Rockets’ contest against the Phoenix Suns. The Rockets would seem like a good bet to beat the Suns in Houston, but stranger things have happened.
Better late than never
Have the Lakers turned the corner five months into the season? As for the aforementioned Thunder, they could get back within one game of the San Antonio Spurs thanks to the Spurs' surprising blowout loss at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Head coach Gregg Popovich decided to rest Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard one night after handling Oklahoma City, and the rest of the team was not able to make up for their absence.
Another close race to watch is the one between the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers. The Grizzlies have won five straight games and are currently percentage points ahead of the Clippers for the third seed. The two teams will be playing each other on Wednesday.
Here are the full West standings:
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