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Heading into the last stretch of the regular season, the LA Lakers continue to jocky for position in an air-tight Western Conference. They currently sit at 34-29 on the year, which is good for ninth place. However, they are just two games out of sixth place and avoiding the Play-In Tournament come the postseason.
With 19 games left on their schedule, the Lakers have the eighth toughest strength of schedule. On top of that, they have the fourth toughest in the Western Confrence. In total, their remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .519.
Having reached the conference finals last year, LA is set on having another deep postseason run this season. LeBron James is still playing at a high level, and Anthony Davis is in the midst of a dominant two-way season. The last thing the team wants to do is waste a year of their star duo by failing to make the playoffs.
LA has performed well as of late, winning seven of their last 10 games. As they continue to try and climb the standings, here is a breakdown of their next five opponents.
LA Lakers' next five opponents:
1) Sacramento Kings (twice)
Two of the LA Lakers' next five games will be against the same opponent. First, they will host the Sacrameto Kings on March 6th. Then, they'll travel to Sacramento to face them on their home floor a week later.
These will be must-win games for the Lakers, as the Kings are two spots ahead of them in the standings. Being able to knock them off twice could help go them from ninth to seventh place. So far this season, the Lakers have failed to take down the Kings.
2) Milwaukee Bucks
The toughness of Lakers' remaining schedule becomes fully apparent in their recent stretch. They have to take on some of the top teams in each conference. After their first matchup with the Kings, they'll host the Milwaukee Bucks on March 8th.
Milwaukee have had some struggles following their coaching change, but have since figured things out. They've regained the No. 2 spot in the East thanks to their recent six-game winning streak. This matchup will be by far one of their toughest in this stretch.
3) Minnesota Timberwolves
Following their matchup with the Bucks, LA will have to take on the top team in the Western Conference. The Minnesota Timberwolves currently have the NBA's second-best record at 43-19.
Led by the league's top defense, the Lakers are going to have their hands full in this matchup. They'll also have to try containing Anthony Edwards, who continues to emerge into one of the NBA's top young stars. This season, the former No. 1 pick is averaging 26.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
4) Golden State Warriors
Finishing off LA's upcoming stretch is a meeting with the Golden State Warriors. This will be a very important game as these teams are right next to each other in the standings.
Since getting healthy and make some changes to their lineup, the Warriors have been one of the hotter teams in basketball. They are 7-3 over their last 10 games, improving their record to 32-28.
When LeBron James and Steph Curry face off, it rarely disappoints. At the end of January, these teams battled it in an double-overtime thriller that is an instant classic.
