Can Lakers rise in the Western Conference standings this week?

With the Western Conference a tight-knit race yet again this season, this series will look at the standings and games to watch across the league as the Lakers look to secure home court and move up the standings.

This is the most important stretch of the season, and if the Lakers beat the Wolves, they’ll be in a prime position to continue climbing up the rankings.

Here’s a look at the current playoff standings in the middle of the conference:

3. Wolves — 40-24, 10 GB
4. Rockets — 39-24, 10.5 GB
5. Lakers — 39-25, 11 GB
6. Nuggets — 39-26, 11.5 GB
7. Suns — 37-27, 13 GB

Let’s take a look at the big games to watch around the league for the next couple of days and who you should be rooting for.

Raptors at Rockets — It’s going to be tough for the Raptors to pull off a road win over the Rockets. The last time they beat a winning team was on Jan. 25 when they defeated the Thunder.

Suns at Bucks — Are the Bucks even trying to win, and more importantly, can they even do it? Giannis Antetokounmpo is set to play in this contest, so maybe that’ll be enough to tip things in Milwaukee’s favor. Phoenix will be relying heavily on Devin Booker, who is coming off another 30-point performance in a quality win over the Hornets.

Wolves at Clippers — Sorry, Lakers fans, but you’re going to have to suck it up and root for the other LA team as Minnesota plays the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Clippers have been playing good basketball as of late and are somehow back at .500 after starting the year with an abysmal 6-21.

Rockets at Nuggets — Is it possible for both teams to lose a basketball game? Who Lakers fans should root for in this game will depend on where things stand before tip-off. The good news is that someone will fall in the rankings, either way, in this contest.

Nuggets at Spurs — Denver has to play Houston, then turn around and play San Antonio. That’s a rough back-to-back. It’s very possible that the Spurs beat the Nuggets on Thursday.

Suns at Pacers — Indiana is tanking and Phoenix is fighting to try and avoid the play-in, so don’t expect much of a game here. This is one to either turn on immediately to see what the vibes are or check at halftime if the Pacers even have a shot at winning.