The current conversations surrounding the Lakers’ playoff prospects are significantly different than they were a month ago.
It was just 4 ½ weeks ago when there were real concerns about whether the Lakers, who were sixth in the Western Conference standings and in the midst of a three-game losing streak after falling to the Suns in Phoenix, would find themselves in the play-in tournament race.
Or at best, starting the playoffs on the road, with an outside shot of having homecourt advantage if they were able to claw their way to fourth place.
How quickly things have changed.
The Lakers’ 14-2 stretch entering Monday’s home game against the Wizards has not only redefined their season, but has also altered their postseason outlook.
They entered Monday at No. 3 in the Western Conference standings, a full game ahead of the No. 4 Nuggets and three games ahead of the No. 5 Timberwolves and No. 6 Rockets.
With just seven games left in the regular season for the Lakers after Monday, the Timberwolves and Rockets are unlikely to catch the Lakers in the standings despite having easier schedules in the final two weeks of the season.
The Rockets (82%) and Timberwolves (89%) both have high percentage chances of finishing the regular season as either Nos. 5 or 6 in the West, according to basketball reference.
With the Lakers projected to win 52 games, the Nuggets, who have one of the league’s tougher remaining schedules, would likely have to go 5-1 in their final six games to move ahead of the Lakers for No. 3 since the Lakers won the regular-season series.
The Lakers won the regular-season series against the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Rockets, and are the lone team among those four to be at the top of their division (which is a tiebreaker for postseason seeding purposes), putting them in full control of the No. 3 spot in the West.
Which means they’ll likely host the Timberwolves or the Rockets to open the playoffs — which is the best-case scenario outcome for the Lakers.
The Rockets, who entered Monday at No. 6 in the West, are 12-9 since the All-Star break — which isn’t a bad record on face value but doesn’t highlight their struggles against the league’s best teams.
Houston has lost six straight games, and eight of its last nine matchups, against teams with winning percentages of 60% or better going back to Jan. 28.
The Rockets’ Feb. 7 win over the Thunder came with Oklahoma City being without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-NBA wing Jalen Williams.
For a while, the Lakers were burdened with the label of not being able to beat some of the league’s best teams until this stretch over the last few weeks, but that’s been the case for the Rockets for a while now. The Rockets’ late-game struggles were apparent in both of the Lakers’ wins over them in Houston earlier in the month.
As for the Timberwolves, it comes down to consistency.
One week it looks like they’re ready to go on a run. The next, they don’t look anything like the team that’s appeared in back-to-back Western Conference finals.
And the Lakers match up better against the Timberwolves this year compared to last year, when Minnesota beat them in five games in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.
Last year showed that seeding doesn’t matter, and that matchups are more relevant when it comes to playoff fate.
But the Lakers have put themselves in a position that felt more hopeful than realistic just a month ago.
Maybe this time, they’ll reap the benefits.