Technically speaking, only one team in the NBA’s Western Conference has been eliminated from the playoffs.
Realistically, however, seven have - which means, with a month to play, we know the eight teams that are likely to make up the playing field.
The Sacramento Kings are the bubble team - the first team on the outside looking in. And they’re four games out, with just 16 contests remaining. It’s not impossible, but it would be exceptionally shocking if they made it work.
So here are the eight teams we’re left with - the Golden State Warriors on top, and a whole bunch of interesting stuff behind them. All records are prior to Wednesday’s games.
Western Conference Standings
Seed | Team | Record | Games Back |
---|---|---|---|
Seed | Team | Record | Games Back |
1 | Golden State Warriors | 45-21 | - |
2 | Denver Nuggets | 44-22 | 1 |
3 | Houston Rockets | 42-25 | 3.5 |
4 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 41-26 | 4.5 |
5 | Portland Trail Blazers | 41-26 | 4.5 |
6 | San Antonio Spurs | 39-29 | 7 |
7 | Los Angeles Clippers | 39-30 | 7.5 |
8 | Utah Jazz | 37-29 | 8 |
With the eight teams basically decided, there are still a lot of races going on. The Warriors and Denver Nuggets are battling for the top seed, while the surging Houston Rockets are trying to catch up to the Nuggets for the second seed.
If the Rockets don’t move up, they’re stuck in a battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers for the 3 - 5 seeds. Those seeds not only determine home court advantage in the opening round, but impact who will face the Warriors in the second round, and who gets to potentially wait until the Conference Finals.
Finally, the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, and Utah Jazz are jockeying for position in the final spots, with, again, the hope of avoiding meeting the Warriors early on. It seems nearly guaranteed that the Warriors will face one of those three teams in the opening round.
The question is, which team will it be, and which team do the Warriors want it to be?
Golden State almost surely prefers the Clippers, simply because the travel situation would be so much more manageable. Los Angeles also is likely the best matchup for Golden State, since they have the least star talent of those three teams.
One thing seems likely: While the Warriors are currently in line to face the Jazz in the first round, that probably won’t end up being the case.
In addition to having the fifth-best net rating in the West, the Jazz have a laughably easy schedule over the next month. In their last 16 games, the Jazz play the Nuggets, the Clippers, and the 36-33 Brooklyn Nets. Other than that, they’re not facing a single team with a winning record.
So it seems likely that they’ll move up in the standings, and likely avoid that first round showdown with the defending champs.
Which means it likely comes down to the Spurs and Clippers, assuming Golden State hangs on to the top seed.
Who would you like to see the Warriors play in round one?
Poll
Who would you like to see the Warriors face in the first round of the playoffs?
This poll is closed
-
60%
Los Angeles Clippers
-
30%
San Antonio Spurs
-
8%
Utah Jazz