The NBA Playoff picture is available for the moment to refer to. The play will draw the most attention as the Los Angeles Lakers look to hold on to the No.7. The Lakers are still chasing the Nos. 5 and 6, but the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors have favourable schedules to keep them ahead of the Lakers.
LeBron James and company must defend themselves against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who still have opportunities to finish ahead of the Lakers. The Eastern Conference technically has a playoff position at stake. But the Brooklyn Nets shouldn’t worry about dropping from 6th to 7th.
(Read Also: Pelicans beat Nuggets with the support of Ingram’s triple-double)
The NBA Eastern Conference Status:
1. Milwaukee (58-22)
2. Boston (55-25)
3. Philadelphia (52-28)
4. Cleveland (51-30)
5. New York (47-33)
6. Brooklyn Nets (44-36)
Play-In Race:
7. Miami (43-37)
8. Atlanta (41-39)
9. Toronto (40-40)
10. Chicago Bulls (38-42)
That leaves the Miami Heat, who beat the Philadelphia 76ers away on Thursday, as the top play-in team, followed by the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls.The Heat is a game behind the Nets. Brooklyn hordes the Orlando Magic on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday.The Nets should beat the Magic and then there’s a chance the Sixers will rest all of their starters to confirm Brooklyn is No. 6 and their first-stage opponent.
The calculation of the Western Conference playoffs is simple.The Clippers need to go 1-1 and the Warriors need to win to avoid the entry round.The Clippers can afford a loss in their last two games because they have a one-game lead over the Lakers and own the head-to-head tiebreak.
Golden State doesn’t have that comfort, but it does have the benefit of playing the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers to finish out the regular season. Sacramento has no reason to gamble with its starters after winning the No.3 seeds. Portland has been playing reserves for the past week.Winning on the road has been difficult for the Warriors all season, but they should pull off those two road tasks and become the last of the West playoff teams to earn 10 road wins.The Lakers need to beat Phoenix and Utah to become the No. 7 worst-case pick.The Suns arrive in Los Angeles Thursday after a game against Denver. They might be inclined to rest or limit their star players’ minutes.
The NBA Western Conference Status:
1. Denver (52-28)
2. Memphis (50-30)
3. Sacramento (48-32)
4. Phoenix (45-35)
5. Los Angeles Clippers (42-38)
6. Golden State Warriors (42-38)
Play-In Race
7. Los Angeles Lakers (41-39)
8. New Orleans (41-39)
9. Minnesota (40-40)
10. Oklahoma City (39-42)
11. Dallas (38-42)
