3 teams Lakers fans should be rooting strongly against as playoffs near

The Los Angeles Lakers have found themselves in a familiar situation with a month left in the regular season. Los Angeles is currently situated as the ninth seed in the Western Conference and is on pace for another date with the Play-In Tournament.

If the Lakers do not climb to the sixth seed then it will be the third time in the last four years that the team is in the Play-In Tournament. If Los Angeles does land in the Play-In Tournament then it is imperative to be either the seventh or eighth seed, as that will give the Lakers one loss of cushion to make the NBA Playoffs.

Not only do the Lakers have to take care of their business to climb into a comfortable spot in the standings, but the team needs help from other teams in the West. Here are the teams that Lakers fans should be rooting against the most to benefit LA.

Lakers fans should root strongly against the Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks stumbled out of the gate after the All-Star Break and allowed the Lakers to gain some ground in the standings. While Dallas has refound its footing and kept it from getting really ugly, the team is vulnerable and can be passed in the standings.

The Mavericks are the gatekeepers of that coveted eighth spot in the standings and are 1.5 games ahead of the Lakers. Los Angeles and Dallas do not play each other again for the rest of the regular season, meaning that the Mavs have secured the head-to-head tiebreaker with a 2-1 record against the Lake Show this season.

Finishing with the same record as the Mavericks will not be enough. Los Angeles needs Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to fall flat over the last month of the season, much like the duo did last season en route to missing the play-in altogether.