USA TODAY International Edition
NBA braces for scramble to regularseason finish
The addition of this season’s play- in format has created an added level of intrigue, with 24 of 30 NBA teams in the playoff mix.
The grueling slog through the NBA’s compact, COVID- 19- restricted regular season nears its end.
Through the frustration, turmoil, exhaustion, injuries, adherence – and sometimes lack thereof – to health and safety protocols and an occasional confounding result, much remains unsettled with about two weeks left in the regular season.
The addition of this season’s play- in format has created an added level of intrigue, with 24 of the 30 teams in the mix for a playoff spot.
While some teams may be locked into the playoffs or play- in game scenario, seeds are tenuous at best.
“It’s just great experience for our guys,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. “We put ourselves in a wonderful position here as a young group – we’re still one of the youngest teams in the NBA – to get this experience ( and) to play meaningful games against top- level teams. There’s no greater teacher than this right now. So, it’s everybody learning on the fly, learning together, gaining great experience. For us, I couldn’t draw it up any better than this.”
Let’s take a look at what’s at stake in the final 15 days of the regular season. ( Records and place standings in the conferences are through Saturday.)
Going for top seed
Brooklyn and Philadelphia were 1- 2 in the Eastern Conference, separated by a half- game, with both teams trying to avoid a second- round matchup with third- seeded Milwaukee, which at 3 1⁄ games back is
2 unlikely to catch the top seed.
Philadelphia just lost back- to- back games against Milwaukee and finished 0- 3 against the Bucks this season. The Sixers are also pushing for the top seed in the East because they play so well at home ( 25- 7 this season). However you want to ascribe the importance of home court in a season with mostly empty arenas, it still matters. At least the top six teams in both conferences possess winning records at home.
Per Tankathon, the Sixers have the easiest remaining schedule and the Nets the 12th hardest.
“We actually don’t talk about the No. 1 seed very
often,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. “I think I’ve mentioned it once or twice the entire season. It’s just that we want to win. We feel like the No. 1 seed is important and it’d be nice if we could get it. But I really focus more on just winning and getting better. We don’t really worry about matchups because there’s no way you can control that. At the end of the day, if you want to be the best, it shouldn’t matter what the matchups are.”
The Nets are also focused on the top seed. But they’re also concerned about health. Brooklyn coach Steve Nash indicated his team might not be healthy until the second round. That’s not ideal – whether it’s a potential second- round series against Milwaukee or the crosstown rival Knicks.
The Bucks, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, may end as the No. 3 seed, but they’ll be as formidable as a No. 1 seed.
In the Western Conference, Utah held a half- game lead on Phoenix, threegame lead on the Nuggets and 3 1⁄ 2- game lead on the Clippers. Phoenix has the 19th- toughest remaining schedule including games against the Lakers, Hawks, Knicks and Trail Blazers.
There is franchise pride at stake, too. The Clippers have never been the No. 1 seed, the Jazz haven’t been the top seed since 1998 and the Suns haven’t been the best regular- season team in the West since 2005.
3 versus 6 intrigue in West
How deep is the West? How about this for a 3- 6 first- round matchup: the Lakers vs. the Nuggets, the two conference finalists from last season.
The Lakers likely won’t drop to seventh place. But it’s unlikely they move ahead of Denver or the Clippers, meaning the defending champs won’t have home- court advantage to start the playoffs and may not have it at all throughout the postseason. Anthony Davis is back in the lineup, and the Lakers need LeBron James – who was out from March 20 until he returned April 30.
Don’t discount the Nuggets because of Jamal Murray’s season- ending ACL injury. They are 9- 1 since his injury and 12- 2 without when you count the four games he missed just before his injury.
Mad jumble in middle of standings
Spots 6- 10 ( Lakers, Portland, Memphis, Golden State and San Antonio) in the West were separated by 4 1⁄ games,
2 spots 6- 9 ( Boston, Miami, Charlotte, Indiana) in the East separated by 3 1⁄
2 and positions 8- 12 ( Charlotte, Indiana, Washington, Chicago, Toronto) in the East separated by 5 1⁄ 2.
There are two factors at play. One, teams want to avoid the play- in game scenario and the risk of not making the playoffs. Two, if teams end up in the 7- 10 play- in game scenario they would prefer the 7- 8 spots because the seventh and eighth seeds need to win just once and the 9- 10 seeds need to win twice to make the playoffs.
Play- in game madness
The play- in format has created excitement and tension. It’s possible Golden State and Steph Curry, Miami and Jimmy Butler, Washington and Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, Memphis and Ja Morant, and Portland and Damian Lillard are part of the playin format.
That’s star power at the bottom of the postseason seeds.
And let’s look at it this way: If the Wizards win the 9- 10 game, the loser of the 7- 8 game won’t be thrilled to see Beal and Westbrook in a winner advances game.
“I know we have a chance when those two guys are right,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “But like any game, you’ve got to have more guys than just your two best players. Your role players have to be stars in their role. Your bench is going to have come in, and you usually have a wild card that has an out- of- nowhere game. But if we’re in the ninth or 10th spot and we have to play a game or two on the road, I love our chances.”