Where the Lakers stand in the Emirates NBA Cup standings after Friday’s loss to the Thunder

Where the Lakers stand in the Emirates NBA Cup standings after Friday’s loss to the Thunder

The Los Angeles Lakers’ chances of making it to the knockout rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup were in jeopardy on Friday as they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder in their final group game.

They struggled offensively all night long, while the Thunder mixed up the play and dictated a slow pace that wasn’t reminiscent of the Lakers. Los Angeles lost 101-93 and went just 2-2 in group play this season.

Although the team is not completely eliminated, they are on the verge of suffering that fate.

Here is the Western Conference Group B standings after Friday’s games:

  1. San Antonio Spurs: 2-1, plus 14 point difference, 353 total points

  2. Thunder: 2-1, plus 18 points difference, 304 total points

  3. Phoenix Suns: 2-1, plus 19 point difference, 330 total points

  4. Lakers: 2-2, minus 24 points differential, 437 total points

  5. Utah Jazz: 0-3, minus 27 points difference, 345 total points

At this point, the Lakers can only advance to the knockout rounds if they are the only wild card team in the Western Conference. To achieve this, they must finish second in Group B and have the best record among the three West teams that finished second in their respective groups.

The Lakers’ massively negative point differential almost ensures they won’t be a wild card team.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Where the Lakers stand in the Emirates NBA Cup standings after Friday’s loss

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