Los Angeles Lakers Cruising As West's No.1 Seed, Vying For Home-Court Advantage In 2020 NBA Finals

The Los Angeles Lakers (45-12) are getting closer to securing No.1 seed in the West. Routing the Golden State Warriors (12-47) by 30 points Thursday night, L.A. extended its sizable lead over the rest of the conference.

Los Angeles beat Golden State without LeBron James, continuing the Warriors’ nightmare season. The reigning Western Conference champions have the NBA’s worst record, trailing the Lakers by 34 games in the standings.

The Lakers have a 5.5-game lead over the No.2 seed Denver Nuggets (40-18). The Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers (39-19) and Houston Rockets (38-20) are fighting for the West’s second-best record.

With 25 games remaining, the Lakers are closer to having the best record in the entire league than they are to being the No.2 seed in the conference. Los Angeles is four games in the loss column behind the Milwaukee Bucks (50-8), who are on pace for a 70-win season.

Milwaukee is in the driver’s seat for home-court advantage through the 2020 NBA Finals. The Lakers have the third-best home record in the West at 23-7. L.A. is 24-5 on the road, and the Lakers haven’t lost a game against a conference opponent outside of Los Angeles all season long.

Milwaukee defeated Los Angeles at home earlier this season. The Lakers host the Bucks on March 6.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the overwhelming favorite to be NBA MVP for the second straight year. James is his top competition for the award. Anthony Davis and Antetokounmpo might be the top two contenders for Defensive Player of the Year.

The Lakers are fourth in offensive rating and third in defensive rating. The Bucks are the only other team that ranks in the top four in both categories.

The Lakers are on a seven-game winning streak. They’ve scored at least 114 points in each contest.