For the last several weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers have made it clear that they do not want to be in the play-in tournament — they want to bypass it by finishing sixth in the Western Conference.
They had an opportunity to get closer to that goal on Wednesday when they faced the Los Angeles Clippers, who started the night in sixth place. But they fell short, 125-118; they couldn’t do anything about the Clippers’ hot outside shooting.
As a result, the Purple and Gold are seventh in the West with a 41-39 record and a full game behind the sixth-place Golden State Warriors.
Luckily, the Lakers still have a pathway to the sixth seed. It isn’t ideal, but it is still very possible.