Wild, Wild Western Conference
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 28 Mar 2024
While the NBA East top ten team cast led by the mighty Boston Celtics looks somehow settled at this late stage, it remains a wild, wild Western Conference as eleven teams are still battling it out for ten spots for the playoffs including the leadership, the final sixth seeding and would you believe, even the four slots for the play-in?
Despite both losing today, the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder remain just half a game from each other with idle Minnesota Timberwolves, all three with the chance of getting the Conference leadership.
The Nuggets dropped a home game against the Phoenix Suns, 104-97 but with a record of 51-22 they hold nominal leadership of the West over the Thunder (50-22) who lost to the Houston Rockets, 132-126 and the idle Timberwolves also at 50-22.
A win by either the Thunder and/or the T-Wolves and another loss by the Nuggets put them ahead the Nuggets. It's as fluid as that perhaps until the final regular games.
Meanwhile, the hold of Los Angeles Clippers (45-27) and the New Orleans Pelicans (44-28) to the 4th and 5th places is likewise precarious as they are merely a game or two ahead of the Dallas Mavericks (43-29) who may not be merely content of just holding on to sixth place which assures of the final automatic seeding.
The Mavs themselves are threatened by any of the Phoenix Suns (43-30) or the Sacramento Kings (42-30), both just half a game or a game back.
At this point, nobody would want to slide down to and remain at the 7fh and 8th place which necessitate both teams to the play-in tournament in company of the 9th and 10th placers, currently, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.
I emphasize the word currently, as the Houston Rockets, with their victory today over the Thunder, keep them in contention at least for the 10th and final place which guarantee a spot in the play-in.
That could be the reason the Lakers and the Warriors have to keep winning which they did today. The Lakers defeating the Memphis Grizzlies on the road 136-124 and the Warriors beating the Orlando Magic also on the road, 101-93. That put LAL (41-32) and Golden State (38-34) at some distance against the Rockets (37-35).
Anything can still happen as the league winds down to its ten games of the regular season.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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