CHARLOTTE, USA – As the NBA season winds down, these next two days will determine the playoff spots for several teams, or for a couple of them, if they even make it to the playoffs that start on April 14 (US time).
Battle for East’s remaining spots
In the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 to 5 seeds are already locked up, with the Milwaukee Bucks gaining homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. They are followed by the (2) Toronto Raptors, (3) Philadelphia 76ers, (4) Boston Celtics, and (5) Indiana Pacers.
Still up in the air are the No. 6 to 8 spots.
The Brooklyn Nets and the Orlando Magic are already guaranteed to be in the playoffs with either of them getting the sixth seed as the highest possible spot. Still trying to get through are the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and Miami Heat.
The Pistons have the best probability of getting into the playoffs with their last remaining games against the Memphis Grizzlies and the New York Knicks. But they are on a four-game losing streak, with the last one coming against the surprising Hornets. Blake Griffin and his teammates need to pull together to get this one through after letting it go last season.
Meanwhile, the Hornets have been carried by their All-Star guard Kemba Walker, who earned the Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors and is ably being supported by a young nucleus. They even pulled a surprise against the Raptors with a Jeremy Lamb game-winner.
The Heat, meanwhile, are holding on to a remote possibility of making the playoffs. The team is hoping to give Dwyane Wade a last hurrah by getting to the playoffs, but they need to beat the 76ers and the Nets and hope either of these two teams incur losses.
Wild, Wild West
In the Western Conference, only the Golden State Warriors are locked into the No.1 spot. The Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Utah Jazz are vying for the second to fifth seeds.
The Nuggets are looking at either the second or third spot with games against the Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves remaining in their schedule. Wins in both those games give them a high probability of getting the second seed.
The Rockets close out their season against Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and the Thunder and hope for the best as they may even land in the fourth spot.
The Trail Blazers hope to guarantee the fourth seed and gain homecourt advantage against the Utah Jazz even as they play the last two games on the road against lottery-bound teams – the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings.
If both the Jazz and Trail Blazers get to 51 wins, a tiebreaker scenario comes into play with the Jazz possibly even snatching the homecourt advantage.
The Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, and San Antonio Spurs complete the Western Conference playoffs, but their seedings are still up in the air. The Spurs play the out-of-contention Mavericks.
The Clippers have the matchup against a determined Jazz squad. The Thunder face a tough obstacle against the Rockets and the league-leading Bucks to close out their season.
And then the next chapter of this season begins, culminating with the NBA Finals on May 30 (US time). – Rappler.com
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