Despite the Lakers having just three games remaining in the regular season, playoff seeding is far from wrapped up in the West this year.

As things stand, the top two seeds in the conference are locked in with the Thunder and Rockets, respectively, while the Lakers are currently in the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference. However, LA could fall as low as the eighth seed in the worst-case scenario.

With four game days left in the regular season, the only teams to clinch their seed number for the postseason are the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in each conference.

The seed possibilities entering tonight’s action ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/XDhGtbANzK

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 9, 2025

There are multiple scenarios for all six spots, but the Lakers control their destiny because they have the tiebreakers over the teams below them.

Simply put, if they win one more game, they secure a playoff spot and avoid the play-in. With two more victories, they can guarantee the third seed. Spectrum SportsNet’s Mike Trudell laid out the simplest scenario ahead of Tuesday’s loss to the Thunder.

If the Lakers go 2-2 in their final 4 games, they’re very likely to secure the No. 3 seed, barring one multi-team tiebreaker scenario where MIN finishes 4-0 and DEN 3-0, and MIN gets the No. 3 based on a 6-2 record in that 3-team hypothetical tie, LA No. 4 and DEN No. 5.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 7, 2025

Having to win two of your last three games is certainly a tense situation, but it’s also the scenario every team in the West is dealing with, minus the Thunder and Rockets.

Luckily, the upcoming games aren’t too tough for the Lakers. They play the Mavericks on Wednesday, and Dallas is a sub .500 team that has lost two straight games. The Lakers should be able to take care of business even with this being a road game on the second night of a back-to-back.

After that, they will play the Rockets on Friday in a game for which Houston has nothing to play. They could very well sit some players and earn some extra rest while the Lakers look to secure their seeding. At worst, though, the Lakers are playing at home with motivation to win, which the Rockets will not have.

In the final game of the season, the Lakers will play the Trail Blazers and have no excuse to lose that game if a victory is still needed. Portland’s season ended many moons ago and if the Lakers still need the win, they have all the talent and incentive to earn it on Sunday.

If the Lakers are as good as their talent on paper indicates them to be, they should be the third seed when this 82-game odyssey is completed.

The ball is in their court, and their task is to earn the two wins they need against three teams that are either below the Lakers in the standings, have nothing to play for, or both.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.