The Los Angeles Lakers are proving they can be a true title contender in the Western Conference—but when it comes to handling Eastern Conference opponents, it's been a very different story.
With their recent 104-98 win over the Houston Rockets, the Lakers improved to an impressive 32-13 against Western teams this season.
That mark is the second-best in the West, and it has allowed them to climb to fourth in the standings with a 46-29 record, putting them in a solid position to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
However, a deeper look reveals a troubling trend: the Lakers are just 14-16 against the Eastern Conference. That discrepancy raises serious questions about their ability to survive a potential Finals run against the East’s elite.
What makes the contrast more glaring is not just who they’ve lost to—but how often they’ve stumbled against teams they should beat. Losing twice to the Cavaliers, once to the Celtics, and twice to the Bucks can be justified. Those are arguably the top teams in the East, and the Lakers were either figuring things out earlier in the season when some of those games took place or had their stars injured.
But losses to the likes of the Bulls (twice), Pistons (twice), and a split against the Nets, Hornets, and Sixers raise eyebrows. These are not juggernauts. Yet the Lakers couldn't assert their dominance.
This isn’t to say the Lakers haven’t taken care of business against good East teams as well. They swept the Knicks, Pacers, and split their matchups with Miami and Atlanta.
They also beat the Washington Wizards twice—though that was expected. Still, when you weigh their East struggles against their dominance in the West, it paints a picture of a team that might not be fully ready for the cross-conference firepower that comes with an NBA Finals matchup.
Fortunately for the Lakers, their remaining seven regular season games are all against the West. They have a two-game cushion over the fifth-seeded Grizzlies and can potentially rise higher with a strong finish.
But the road is far from easy—they’ll face the Thunder twice, the Warriors, the Rockets again, and even the Blazers and Mavericks, both of whom are still dangerous. Every win matters now, both for playoff seeding and to maintain momentum.
The Lakers might be thriving in the West, but until they prove they can handle the East, the championship road still comes with a major question mark.
