LeBron James is not fixating on the missed chances that have put the Los Angeles Lakers in a position to compete for a higher rank in the Western Conference play-in tournament.

Instead of dwelling on what could have been, James is zeroing in on the immediate goal of guiding Los Angeles to victory against the home team, Memphis Grizzlies, in their upcoming clash on Friday night.

Sitting at ninth in the Western Conference with just two games left in the regular season, Los Angeles (45-35) is now out of the running for a top-six seed in the conference. Nevertheless, they still have significant incentives to vie for.

As of Thursday, the Lakers trailed Sacramento by just half a game for the eighth seed. Should Los Angeles surpass the Kings, they would have an opportunity to lose a game in the play-in and still retain a chance to advance.

The team that ends up losing between the seventh and eighth seeds will go on to confront the victor of the matchup between the ninth and tenth seeds. The loser of the 9-10 game will be eliminated from the play-in contention.

Despite the roller-coaster nature of this regular season, James is refusing to let hypothetical scenarios impede their efforts to enhance their play-in position.

“That doesn’t change anything, ’cause it is what it is today,” James said of the impact of early-season results. “So you focus on the present and forget about the past and (focus on) just how we can get better in the future.”

It seemed like the Lakers might sneak into a top-six spot in the West after going 9-1 from March 18 to April 6, but they have since endured consecutive defeats.

In their most recent game, Los Angeles succumbed to a 134-120 loss against Golden State on Tuesday, as the Warriors shot an astonishing 63.4 percent from beyond the arc. Despite James’ impressive performance of 33 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, the team couldn’t secure a win.

Anthony Davis, sidelined due to a headache/nausea, missed the game. His availability for Friday remains uncertain.

Memphis (27-53) is solely aiming to generate momentum for the upcoming season and leave behind a campaign marred by injuries.

The Grizzlies have sandwiched a three-game winning streak between two three-game losing streaks in their recent nine matchups, concluding with a 110-98 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

In that defeat, Jake LaRavia drained eight 3-pointers and scored a career-best 32 points, while 19-year-old GG Jackson contributed 22 points.

“It was one of those nights where anything I was throwing up was going in,” LaRavia said. “I’m playing with confidence in my abilities and I’m just trying to take advantage of my opportunities.”

Over the last six games, LaRavia has averaged 16.7 points and 4.3 rebounds, boasting a remarkable 53.5 percent accuracy from long range.

With a resilient young core that remains optimistic despite the challenges faced, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins is enthusiastic about the future path of the team.

“Having a woe-is-me attitude isn’t going to help, but that hasn’t been a problem for us,” Jenkins said. “Our attitude has been fantastic all year.”

The upcoming game will mark the conclusion of the four-game series between the two teams, with the Lakers emerging victorious in two out of the previous three encounters against Memphis.