The Los Angeles Lakers fell to a 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, their second-straight loss after a red-hot March where the franchise went 14-2.
The Lakers lost Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to injury on Thursday night during their 139-96 loss to the OKC Thunder, with neither player expected to return before the NBA playoffs. This means LeBron James will have to lead the franchise alone through the last five games to ensure they don't lose their grip on the No. 3 seed.
With two losses, their advantage over chasing teams has disappeared, with No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets now just 0.5 games behind. However, what was a four-team race with the Lakers, Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves has become a three-team race after Sunday's results.
The Timberwolves' loss to the 122-108 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday confirms that the franchise can't jump the Lakers in the standings, ensuring that the Lakers can't finish any lower than the No. 5 seed this season.
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The Lakers might not be able to outlast the red-hot Nuggets right now, but they still have a two-game lead over the Rockets. If James can lead them to even two wins, they might secure a top-four spot with home-court advantage for the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the Lakers' next game is against the OKC Thunder again on Tuesday. With a win for OKC likely securing a third consecutive season as the No. 1 seed in the West, it doesn't look like the Lakers will catch any breaks there. It's hard to imagine the LeBron-led Lakers surprising the Thunder if they couldn't even beat the Mavericks led by rookie Cooper Flagg.
Not falling all the way to No. 6 is a silver lining considering there's a chance the Lakers might not win more than one regular-season game the rest of the way. It'll be great to watch the LeBron show over this stretch, but it's hard to imagine that leading to high-level wins given their No. 1 option is 41 years old.
The Lakers have a 50-28 record and still hold the No. 3 seed, but the Nuggets have a 50-29 record and are chasing LA down for the seed. The Rockets have an extra game in hand to boost their 48-29 record.
The Nuggets can easily catch the Lakers before the end of the season, given their form right now, while the Rockets could also catch up if the Lakers look like they can't win games. LA has trickier fixtures remaining, so it'll be interesting to see where Houston ends the season and if the Lakers will fall to No. 5 before the playoffs begin.
