The Battle for Los Angeles is upon us as the Lakers and Clippers square off in Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night. While a singular clash between LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard is significant in its own right, the game carries greater magnitude given its potential impact on the Western Conference playoff race.

The Lakers and Clippers enter the contest with identical 41-38 records, with LAC holding the edge via the tiebreaker. Assuming their two closest rivals in the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans manage to win out through their remaining games, the result of the Lakers-Clippers clash could completely shake up the standings especially with the complex tiebreakers in play.

If the Clippers win, others win out rest of schedule

A Clippers victory would propel them ahead of the Lakers and Pelicans while forcing a tie with the Warriors for the fifth seed, which they would own via tiebreaker. That would leave the standings looking like this at season's end if everyone wins out the rest of the way:

5th seed – Clippers

6th seed – Warriors

7th seed – Lakers

8th seed – Pelicans

If the Lakers win, others win out rest of schedule

LeBron James and the Lakers coming through Wednesday and wins across the board the rest of the way would completely upend things for the Clippers. A win would push the Lakers into an end-of-season tie with the Warriors, who they edge out for the fifth seed via tiebreaker as well. The Pelicans would find themselves in a tie with LAC and take homecourt advantage in their play-in matchup due to their head-to-head tiebreaker. The standings would look like this:

5th seed – Lakers

6th seed – Warriors

7th seed – Pelicans

8th seed – Clippers

Things to consider

There are still a few different variables at play. While all teams are motivated and powering through the end of the season, there's no guarantee that they all would win out. The Warriors still have a game against the three-seeded Kings in Sacramento while the Pelicans end their season against the Grizzlies, Knicks, and Timberwolves – all postseason squads.

At the same time, there's no telling whether certain teams will opt to rest their starters or if they'll still be jockeying for positioning of their own. The stakes will be changing depending on results as the days go by.

There's also the fact that teams may want to avoid the 4th-seeded Phoenix Suns, whose lineup with Kevin Durant has proven to be virtually unbeatable thus far. Teams would definitely prefer not to drop to 7th and risk falling out of the playoffs entirely, but it's not the worst fate if it means avoiding the Suns in the first round. Expect that to play a factor as teams game plan for the final week of the regular season.

The Lakers and Clippers both face the Suns before the campaign comes to an end, but don't be surprised if Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul watch from the sidelines given Phoenix's near settled spot in the West standings.

There's a lot at stake on Wednesday night, as well as the rest of the way before the postseason begins. A tight Western Conference race is living up to its billing.