The stakes of Lakers-Warriors showdown for Western Conference playoff picture

Yesterday at 05:30 PM

Outside of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the Western Conference standings, a lot of uncertainty exists as to where each team will end up before the playoffs start. While several teams are still fighting to avoid the play-in tournament region of the standings, others are attempting to clinch home-court advantage for a first-round series.

Two of these teams — the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors — will meet on Thursday in what is the most important Western Conference game of the season.

These two franchises have a lot of history with one another.

Aside from being in-division rivals, the past battles between LeBron James and Stephen Curry created an unbreakable narrative. Now that Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler are included in this matchup, even more intrigue continues to grow for the potential of Golden State and Los Angeles meeting in the playoffs.

The Lakers have been patiently preparing for this game against the Warriors since they took down the Houston Rockets 104-98 on Monday night. James, Doncic, and Austin Reaves have been red-hot lately, leading LA to become the 4-seed in the West with seven games remaining.

On the opposite side, the Dubs have turned things around with Butler. Since his first game with the team, Golden State has gone 19-5, and they are 18-2 overall when both Curry and Butler play. The Warriors’ success continued on Tuesday night when they picked up a huge 134-125 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, a game in which Steph scored 52 points on 12-of-20 shooting from 3-point range.

In addition to this being the Warriors’ third straight win, it also propelled them ahead of the Grizzlies in the West standings. Golden State is now leading Memphis by a half-game for the 5-seed, raising the stakes for Thursday’s showdown in LA.

Both teams have only seven games remaining on their schedules, including this matchup. While the Lakers are 46-29 this season, the Warriors are right behind them at 44-31 after Tuesday night’s win against the Grizzlies.

A win from either team drastically shifts the Western Conference standings. More importantly, it increases the chances of these two teams facing one another again in the playoffs.

The Lakers and Warriors have different motivations for needing to win Thursday’s game, yet the outcome of this much-anticipated matchup will captivate everyone’s eyes in the West standings.

Lakers eyeing more than 4-seed

Where will the Lakers end up in the standings?

When LeBron missed seven straight games due to a groin injury and the Lakers went 3-4 without him, Los Angeles fell from having the second-best record in the conference to fifth place.

This team is currently two full games ahead of the Warriors for the 4-seed in the West, and they trail the Denver Nuggets by 1.5 games for the 3-seed. All that matters to head coach JJ Redick and the Lakers at this point is holding onto a top-four spot in the standings to ensure home-court advantage in the playoffs. Besides the strain of traveling, the Lakers have gone 29-9 in Los Angeles this season compared to being 17-20 on the road.

While they own the third-best home record in the league, Los Angeles is tied for 12th with their abysmal road record. A win over the Warriors would not only allow the Lakers to inch closer to claiming home-court advantage in a first-round series, but it would also put the 2-seed and 3-seed in play for this team.

With the Nuggets falling at home in a double-overtime thriller to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, the door has opened for Los Angeles to continue rising in the standings. There is a chance Los Angeles could finish with the same record as Denver at the end of the regular season if the Lakers beat the Warriors on Thursday, ultimately giving LA the tiebreaker and the 3-seed in the West.

It is also worth mentioning the Rockets, whom Doncic and James claimed victory over on Monday. These two teams have split their meetings this season, making a matchup on Apr. 11 before the end of the season important. A win for Houston or Los Angeles in that game decides the season tiebreaker, which could play a factor in the standings if the Lakers pull closer to the Rockets with a win over Golden State.

So many moving parts are involved with this Lakers-Warriors matchup, and there is so much is at stake.

Although Los Angeles had more time off than Golden State in preparation for this pivotal game, Doncic told reporters that he’s been banged up and dealing with an elbow injury that feels “terrible,” according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The good news for Los Angeles is that James, Rui Hachimura, and others recently returned to the lineup from injuries and are good to go down the stretch run of the season.

However, a loss to the Warriors in Los Angeles on Thursday night could be costly.

Should the Lakers lose to the Dubs, there will be a sense of unsteadiness about their ability to maintain a top-four spot in the West standings, especially with back-to-back matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder approaching.

The Lakers essentially control their own fate at this point with wins. Then again, losing to the Warriors suddenly puts Los Angeles two or two-and-a-half games from the play-in region of the standings, depending on the outcome of other games.

This is a must-win game for the Lakers.

Will Warriors avoid the play-in tournament?

As much as this is a must-win game for the Lakers, it’s also becoming a must-win game for the Warriors.

Golden State is bringing momentum and confidence with them into Thursday’s game in Los Angeles. Curry just scored 52 points, Draymond Green is currently the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, and this team has barely lost with Butler, Curry, and Green on the court together.

Although the Lakers have won the first three matchups between these teams this season, the fourth is the most important because of where these organizations find themselves in the standings.

If the Warriors lose, their hopes of moving up further in the West standings and possibly earning home-court advantage go out the door. This would also result in the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, and LA Clippers having a chance to jump the Dubs in the standings over the final week and a half of the season. That is a scenario the Warriors don’t want to face since the play-in tournament is still a possibility.

A win in Los Angeles on Thursday would mean a lot to Golden State.

Not only would that create a buffer for them from the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, and Clippers, but the Warriors would be able to confidently look at their upcoming matchups against Denver and Houston. That is ultimately what this team wants, and Moses Moody made it clear the team is focused on winning one game at a time.

“When we (are) coming down the stretch, you got to look around the standings and see what other guys are doing, hoping that guys lose and this and that,” Moody said after Tuesday’s win over the Grizzlies. “But you can control your destiny when you meet those teams. That’s what we did tonight.”

Controlling their destiny is what the Warriors are ultimately looking at ahead of Thursday’s game in LA.

This team has gone through massive changes throughout the 2024-25 season, and they were always a part of the equation for other teams since Golden State hadn’t forged an identity. Since Butler’s arrival, the Warriors have been one of the best teams in the league, and they have charted a clear path forward for themselves.

Originally, head coach Steve Kerr said the goal was to avoid the play-in tournament and claim a top-six spot in the standings. With a win over the Lakers, those goals can expand to greater lengths, as the Warriors currently own the fifth-best record in the Western Conference and can fight for home-court advantage with a win over Los Angeles.

This is the most important game in the Western Conference this season. It will set the stage for the NBA Playoffs and, eventually, play a factor in which of the eight teams reaches the 2025 NBA Finals from the West.

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