LOS ANGELES -- Location, location, location — it’s one of life’s most essential principles, and the same holds true, if not even more so, when it comes to a team’s seeding heading into the NBA playoffs.
In an era where coach-speak dominates and athletes often stick to polished, media-friendly responses, it's rare to hear a player look beyond the immediate future and break from the well-worn “one game at a time” approach.
But like a breath of fresh air, Dorian Finney-Smith kept it real.
After delivering one of his best performances as a Laker — posting a season-high 20 points along with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks in L.A.’s 104-98 win over the Rockets — he didn’t shy away from honesty when discussing the standings.
“Everybody is paying attention. Let’s be honest,” Finney-Smith said. “Everybody is looking at the standings. We don’t want to be in the play-in, so every game matters.”
With just seven games left in the season, it’s hard to ignore the standings when they’re this tight — just 3 ½ games separate the third and sixth seeds in the West.
As Finney-Smith mentioned, the Lakers are fighting to stay out of the play-in tournament. With recent wins against key Western Conference opponents, they’ve strengthened their position, now holding a two-game cushion over the Grizzlies, against whom they own the tiebreaker.
All season, the Western Conference standings have been in constant flux and the Lakers have found themselves right in the thick of it.
Few understand the stakes better than LeBron James, who has navigated playoff pushes more than anyone in league history. He’s well aware of the standings' volatility and what’s required down the stretch.
“This year in particular, it’s so close, and people are jumping each other, falling behind — whatever the case may be,” James said. “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."
Despite a rough start to March, the Lakers course-corrected by the end of the month, taking care of business against teams they needed to beat, including Houston, Memphis and Denver. With the postseason approaching, the Lakers continue to control their own destiny.
Like James, head coach JJ Redick acknowledged that his team recognizes the stakes before the game. The players have discussed it. The coaching staff has talked about it. And while Redick says, “One of the hardest things in life is navigating control versus non-control,” his team can still dictate their own path in the standings.
“We can control if we make the playoffs. We have to go out and play well,” Redick said. “Even at this stage of the season, where we've had a couple of bad stretches, we still can kind of control where we're seeded.”
Throughout these final weeks, the Lakers have made it clear that their sights are set even higher — securing a top-four seed and earning home-court advantage.
A fourth-seed finish remains the most likely outcome, as that’s where they currently stand. The third seed is within reach, just one game behind the Nuggets. Though a more difficult climb, the second seed is still in play at 2 ½ games back of Houston.
The ultimate goal is to bring playoff basketball back to L.A., where they’ve thrived all season, posting the third-most home wins in the league (29-9) — even if it’s just for the first round.
It’s been over a decade since the Lakers last hosted a playoff series at Crypto.com Arena — outside of the 2020 bubble. The last time it happened was in 2012, when Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol led the team against the Denver Nuggets.
The key now is following through — playing the right kind of basketball when it matters most, especially against the teams that matter most.
That leads directly to their next challenge: the Golden State Warriors. Holding the sixth seed at 43-32 and winners of seven of their last ten, the Warriors are surging, even with a banged-up Steph Curry.
The Lakers, however, have had their number this season, winning all three matchups. But the last meeting was on Feb. 6 — a lifetime ago in NBA terms — when both teams looked much different than they do now.
The game occurred just days after the Dončić trade — before he had even suited up for the Lakers — and a day after the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler, who hadn’t yet arrived in San Francisco.
Since then, the Lakers have gone 16-10, while the Warriors have an 18-5 record, one of the best marks in the NBA during that span.
Beyond the immediate standings, this matchup carries significant playoff implications. If the Warriors secure the sixth seed and the Lakers climb to third, the two teams could be on a collision course for the first round of the playoffs.
While trying not to solely focus on the final seven games of the season and their potential playoff position, Reddick and the team understand the magnitude of each game and the urgency that comes with them.
