NBA Playoff Picture 2022: Updated Standings as Lakers Fall Out of Play-In After Loss

The Los Angeles Lakers have fallen out of position for the play-in tournament with their latest loss, putting them in danger of missing the playoffs.

With LeBron James out with an ankle injury and Anthony Davis still unavailable, the Lakers suffered a 128-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks to drop to 31-44. It put them into 11th place in the Western Conference after tiebreakers, which would mean no postseason if things don't turn around.

The top of the Eastern Conference race also continued to heat up as the Milwaukee Bucks earned an important 118-116 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

It creates plenty of drama on both sides of the standings with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.

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Western Conference

1. Phoenix Suns (61-14)

2. Memphis Grizzlies (53-23)

3. Golden State Warriors (48-28)

4. Dallas Mavericks (47-29)

5. Utah Jazz (45-31)

6. Denver Nuggets (45-31)

7. Minnesota Timberwolves (43-33)

8. Los Angeles Clippers (37-39)

9. New Orleans Pelicans (32-43)

10. San Antonio Spurs (31-44)

11. Los Angeles Lakers (31-44)

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The Phoenix Suns have the No. 1 seed locked up, while the Memphis Grizzlies have clinched a spot in the playoffs.

The next five teams are safely in the postseason, although there will be a fight to lock up one of the top six spots to avoid a play-in.

The Minnesota Timberwolves trail the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz by just two games, and the Jazz are in trouble after losing their fifth straight with Tuesday's defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers. Utah went 4-0 versus Denver in the regular season to earn a tiebreaker, but it might not matter if the slide continues.

There is also plenty on the line further down the standings, as just two of the Pelicans, Spurs and Lakers will earn a spot in the play-in tournament. New Orleans holds a one-game lead over the other two teams heading into Wednesday.

Los Angeles split its season series with San Antonio, but the squad's 16-29 conference record is by far the worst of any playoff contender. This will be the decisive tiebreaker if the two teams end up with equal records.

The Lakers have five wins in the last 21 games. The team could still be dangerous in a play-in tournament, needing just two wins to get an eighth seed. If LeBron is anywhere near healthy, it will be difficult to count him out.

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Eastern Conference

1. Miami Heat (48-28)

2. Milwaukee Bucks (47-28)

3. Boston Celtics (47-29)

4. Philadelphia 76ers (46-29)

5. Chicago Bulls (44-32)

6. Toronto Raptors (43-32)

7. Cleveland Cavaliers (42-33)

8. Brooklyn Nets (40-36)

9. Charlotte Hornets (39-37)

10. Atlanta Hawks (38-37)

11. New York Knicks (34-42)

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There isn't much mystery about which teams are headed to the postseason in the Eastern Conference. Only the Miami Heat have clinched, but there is a 4.5-game gap between 10th and 11th for the final play-in spot.

Though the New York Knicks have won four in a row, they would need to keep it going for the final six games while another team suffers a major collapse. 

The real drama comes from the seeding, with No. 1 through No. 8 closer in the standings in the East than No. 1 and No. 2 are in the West.

Just 1.5 games separate first and fourth, which makes the Bucks' win over the 76ers on Tuesday crucial. Milwaukee is 2-1 against Philadelphia, clinching a tiebreaker if needed.

The defending champs split the season series against the Miami Heat and are 1-2 against the Boston Celtics with one game remaining. It puts the Bucks in good position to grab the No. 1 seed if they finish the year strong.

Miami also closes the year with four of six on the road, including just one game against a team out of the playoff picture (Orlando Magic). 

The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors will also work hard to finish in the top six and avoid the play-in tournament, with current No. 7 Cleveland Cavaliers just one game back.

Cleveland went 3-1 against Toronto this season, a tiebreaker that could be vital.

The Brooklyn Nets—in the No. 8 spot—are an extremely dangerous play-in team that could end anyone's season. The rest of the field will want to avoid this matchup, keeping pressure on the Cavaliers and others to finish the season strong.