If the NBA season ended today, trust me, I know it wouldn't, but these are realistic playoff scenarios, so for the sake of this exercise, play along with it. Either the Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors will miss the playoffs.
And unless they get out of the deep end of the play-in game, neither team may make the playoffs.
Today, the Warriors are in 10th place.th The Lakers are in 9th place with 41 wins and 34 losses, and 9th place with 43 wins and 33 losses. The winner of the 9-10 match will play the loser of his 7-8 match for the 8th seed, and the winner of the 7-8 match will take the 7th seed.
If the Lakers or Warriors advance as the No. 8 seed, they will face either Oklahoma City, Denver or Minnesota in the first round.
Let's take a look at who's moving up and who's falling in the Eastern and Western Conference playoff races.
Rising NBA teams
Since February 5th, the Mavericks are 19-7. This is the second-highest winning percentage, and the Mavs have the No. 4 offense and, most importantly for postseason success, the No. 8 defense during that span.
Over the past two months, Luka Doncic has averaged a triple-double (32.5 points, 10.2 assists, 10.1 rebounds) and Kyrie Irving has averaged 25.5 points, 5.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 51.8% FG, 3S 41.5% was recorded. Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, acquired at the trade deadline, both average over 11 points.
The Mavs are tied for fifth place with New Orleans and two behind the fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers.
Oklahoma City, Denver, Minnesota
It's at the top of the West, crowded, and competitive. The Nuggets, Thunder and Timberwolves are separated by 1/2 game for the top seed.
Denver is in first place as they have played one more game and won one more than the other two teams, Oklahoma City is 7-3 in their last 10 games and Minnesota is 8-2.
Denver and Minnesota played on April 10th, and the Thunder finished playing both teams. In head-to-head tiebreakers, the Thunder owns the tiebreaker against Denver and Minnesota, and Minnesota owns the tiebreaker against Denver, until the results of the remaining games are known.
It was a 3-way tie, with the Thunder winning the tiebreaker today.
lakers, warriors
Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games, with the Warriors winning five in a row and having a two-game buffer between wins and 11.th-Location Houston. The Lakers and Warriors will play on Tuesday.
The Lakers are in eighth place, just 1.5 games behind Phoenix, and have a chance to catch up with the Suns. The Lakers won the tiebreaker against Phoenix.
Boston suffered a bizarre two-game losing streak against Atlanta, but is still 22-4 since losing to the Lakers on February 1st. The Celtics have the best record (59 wins, 16 losses), are the No. 1 offense, and are the team with the No. 1 offense. Defensive power 3, net rating No.1.
It's all about one more win in 18 games for the franchise.th This is his first title since 2008.
Are the Heat still a dangerous team?
Miami is 7-3 in their last 10 games and has won three in a row. The Heat have a top-5 defense, but only 21 defenses.cent aggressively. Will they be able to put the team together for the playoffs? Well, it's Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo, so…it's possible.
NBA teams decline
The Suns were tied for fifth place at the All-Star break with 33 wins and 22 losses. They currently sit tied for 7th place with 44 wins and 31 losses, and have a tough remaining schedule. They play seven games against seven postseason teams, all of whom have the same or better record.
The Suns are just one game behind fifth-place Dallas and New Orleans, but just 1.5 games behind the Lakers.
13 wins in 15 games, 11 wins inthThe first-place Houston Rockets have closed the gap on Golden State, trailing the Warriors by just 1/2 game a week ago. However, the Rockets' two consecutive losses and the Warriors' four consecutive wins have created distance between the two teams. Houston is three games behind Golden State and will have a hard time regaining it in seven games. They play Thursday, but even if the Rockets win, it might not be enough, especially considering Golden State owns the tiebreaker.
The Knicks have lost three straight and are tied for fourth place with Orlando, 1.5 games behind No. 6 Indiana and two games behind Miami. Injuries continue to impact the Knicks.
The Cavaliers are 4-6 in their last 10 games, losing to Houston, Miami (twice) and Charlotte. The third-place Cavs trail second-place Milwaukee by 1.5 games, and have a 1.5-game lead over Orlando and New York.
The Sixers have plummeted in the standings since losing Joel Embiid to a knee injury in late January. The good news for the Sixers is that Embiid returned on Tuesday and had 24 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in a 109-105 win over Oklahoma City.
If the No. 8 Sixers fail to clinch the No. 6 seed, they are two games behind Indiana and 1.5 games behind Miami, but could advance to a play-in game and first-round series with Milwaukee. .
