Lakers’ LeBron James Not Paying Attention To Standings: ‘Continue Trying To Play Some Good Basketball’

After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers on Sunday (3/24), LeBron James told NBA reporters that he’s not paying attention to the Western Conference standings. 

The Lakers are in ninth place in the West with a record of 39-32. They are 2.5 games ahead of the Golden State Warriors, who are in 10th place, and 2.5 games back of the Dallas Mavericks for eighth place. 

“It’s been flip-flopping so much over the last few weeks, I kind of stopped looking at it,” LeBron said of the West standings, via The Athletic. “Just kind of just like focusing on each game at a time. So, obviously, we know where we are right now. Just continue trying to play some good basketball. That’s a very testy road trip for us. … But we’re looking forward to it.”

Seeds 1-6 automatically qualify for the 2024 postseason, while seeds 7-10 compete in the play-in tournament. 

The Lakers are ninth in the NBA in points per game, 23rd in points per game allowed and 19th in net rating. They are currently on a three-game winning streak. 

“We’ll put up a slide and look at the standings and see more so where we are and what we need to do in terms of winning games,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said. “And obviously, if you can win every game the rest of the way, that’s great. That’s always great. But different, unforeseen circumstances sometimes affect the outcome of going undefeated.”

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron is averaging 25.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists this season while shooting 53.0% from the field, 40.6% from beyond the arc and 75.1% from the free-throw line. The NBA icon continues to defy Father Time. 

The Lakers’ next six games are on the road. They will face the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards. 

“We know that if we don’t take care of our business, none of it matters,” Ham said. “We feel comfortable. We like our chances if we get in. So our focus is to make sure we secure a spot, regardless of what the circumstances end up being.”