The Lakers (44-37) can lock up their playoff bid with a win Wednesday against the Houston Rockets (45-36), but they could clinch a postseason berth before tipoff.

The Memphis Grizzlies (55-26) host the Utah Jazz (43-38) on Wednesday prior to the Lakers’ battle against the Rockets. A Memphis win would guarantee L.A. no worse than the eighth spot in the playoffs.


Has Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol called his brother, Memphis center Marc Gasol, to ask for a little help against the Jazz?

“I told him to please go out there and compete and try to win the game,” said Pau.


Did he get a positive response?

“He said, ‘We’ll see,’ because last night they played the starters 24 minutes. They probably play the same the next game,” said the Lakers’ forward/center.


The Grizzlies are still trying to finish with a better record than the Clippers, their likely first-round matchup. Memphis defeated the Dallas Mavericks on Monday despite Marc Gasol playing just half the game.

The Lakers would prefer to win regardless against the Rockets, enabling them to climb to seventh place, where they’d face the San Antonio Spurs. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the more daunting challenge if the Lakers finish eighth.


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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.