The NBA restart is nearing its end for 6 teams, but 16 others will go to the Playoffs and continue to live the fairytale in Disney World. Today we look at how the league shapes up with 3 games to go for most teams, from the contenders to the teams that are still battling for that final spot amongst the top 8 in their respective conference.
The Contenders
The Milwaukee Bucks arecurrently 2-3 in the restart, having rested their main players for most of the Nets game, where they lost. But the losses against Houston and Dallas show that the Bucks still struggle with good shooting teams.
Another team that hasn’t impressed are the Los Angeles Lakers, who are 2-4 in the restart and are still lacking a clear 3rd option behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Their All-World duo has not been able to lead the charge for a shaky Lakers team.
Their rivals, the Clippers, have not been able to get a real rhythm going, just like during the regular season. They are 3-2, but have had to make do without Montrezl Harrell for the entirety of the restart, while Beverley, Leonard and Lou Williams have also missed games. They have a plethora of options, but the team aspect still lacks.
The Toronto Raptors are 3-1 in the restart, with their only loss coming in a blowout against the Boston Celtics, in a game that could have sealed the second place in the East. The Raptors still have 4 games to go, so they’ll most likely clinch the second spot, with the Celtics, who are 3-2, probably ending up 3rd.
The Playoff locks
Here are how the playoff locks are doing:
West:
Denver Nuggets: 46-24, 3-2 in the restart
Houston Rockets: 43-25, 3-1 in the restart
Oklahoma City Thunder: 42-26, 2-2 in the restart
Utah Jazz: 43-27, 2-4 in the restart
Dallas Mavericks: 42-30, 2-3 in the restart
East:
Miami Heat: 43-27, 2-3 in the restart
Indiana Pacers: 43-27, 4-1 in the restart
Philadelphia 76ers: 42-27, 3-1 in the restart
Brooklyn Nets: 33-36, 3-2 in the restart
Orlando Magic: 32-38, 2-3 in the restart
The race for 8th
The most interesting part about this bubble is the race for that 8th and final playoff spot. To refresh you on the rules, here’s how it goes. If there’s less than a 4-game difference between 8th and 9th, regardless of how close the 10th seed is, there will be play-in games, where the 8th seed has to win one game and the 9th two.
The Memphis Grizzlies are currently still sitting in that 8th spot, but they’re holding on for dear life. They are 1-4, and on top of that, Justice Winslow and Jaren Jackson Jr. are both out for the season. They hold a 1.5 game advantage over the 9th seed with 3 games left, so it is up to them to perform against the 3 best teams in the East.
The Portland Trail Blazers dropped to 3-2 after Damian Lillard failed to hit 2 free throws while being down one and then missed the game-tying 3, gifting the shorthanded Clippers the win. What followed was an entire back-and-forth in the post-game presser and on social media between Lillard, George and Beverley, with families even chirping in. The Blazers have 3 games left against the Sixers, Mavs and Nets, so they hold their faith in their own hands.
But if the Blazers drop one game, the Phoenix Suns are half a game behind them and then they would decide their own faith to get into that play-in spot. And Phoenix could win out. They are already 5-0 in the bubble, being the only undefeated team and they have 3 winnable games left against the Thunder, Sixers and Mavericks.
The San Antonio Spurs have to hope that both the Blazers AND Suns slip up. They are also half a game behind the Blazers, but they have a worse winning percentage than the Suns at 30-38 compared to Phoenix’ 31-39. San Antonio finishes out against the Pelicans, who still have a chance of getting in, the Rockets and the Jazz. They are 3-2 in the bubble, with no game being decided by more than 10 points.
The New Orleans Pelicans are one game behind, and just like the Spurs, they have to hope the Suns slip up and the Blazers even have to lose twice. Their direct confrontation with the Spurs later today will probably decide who can still hope and who will go home.
Sacramento has almost no hope of still getting in, as they would need a perfect parkour from here on out while hoping for an unthinkable amount of losses for the other teams contending for 8th. They’ve went 1-4, with their sole win coming against the Pelicans.
And in the East, the Washington Wizards are so far back that they’re even behind the Hornets in the standing, who weren’t invited to the Bubble. They are already mathematically eliminated.
Courtside 