Never in its almost 80 years of history has the NBA ended, in its regular phase and in either of its two conferences, with a three-way tie in terms of teams with the same number of wins and losses for first place. This year there is a high probability of that happening.
Today, under a more respectable schedule (9:30 p.m. in Spain – 5:30 p.m. in Argentina, 3:30 p.m. in the Dominican Republic -) and at the same time, we will attend the ‘live’ of this eventuality:
- The Nuggets will visit the Grizzlies’ arena (difficulty: easy).
- The Thunder play at home against the Mavericks, already qualified (difficulty: medium).
- The Timberwolves, for their part, will host the Suns whose Big Three direct access to playoffs is played (difficulty: final boss).
The three games are played at the same time with high excitement, since being first will mean a home field advantage until a hypothetical Finals where they would only lose said favor if the Boston Celtics were waiting in front, the only franchise with a better record than these three (63-18).
But if in the western sky we talk about emotionthere is another strip in the table where the term to use is strain. And to be frank (and also taking place at the same time), unless you are a die-hard fan of one of them, the games to tune in to will be different. Or rather, just one more. Because with a degree of ring favoritism similar (or even higher) to Wolves and OKC, the New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers are playing for the copper at a much lower level.
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With just two days of games left in the @NBA regular season, there is so much at stake with 17 seeds still undetermined.
Check out all of the remaining possibilities entering tonight’s 15-game schedule ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/elBbITR87U
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 12, 2024
Today’s goal:
- NOLA: maintain their 6th place and direct qualification to the playoffs.
- Phoenixs Suns: go up from 7th to 6th place and avoid the play-in.
- Los Angeles Lakers: maintain their 8th place (to the detriment of Kings and Warriors), since falling to 9th or 10th would mean losing their current cushion, for which, in play-in, a victory would be enough for them (and even with the luxury of a defeat) to advance to the playoffs.
Today’s matchups:
- NOLA – Lakers
- Timberwolves – Suns
Come on, they were going to play against the Pistons or Hornets!
But not. Fate has wanted there to be no ease or excuse for the loser. The three will have to earn their place against a rival that is also fighting for its life, so today the intensity, the tough defenses and the prohibition of jogging down to defend will be the identifying elements of these two games that smell more than like a play-in to all-in.
NOLA – LAKERS
Both Pelicans and Lakers, in their direct confrontation, will depend on themselves to achieve their goal, it will be enough for them to prevent the status quo from changing. If NOLA wins, they will be a playoff team. If on the other hand the Angelenos take the victory, theirs will be the eighth place being the Suns or, again, NOLA, their first (and perhaps only) obstacle in the play-in.
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Whoever loses will have to check what their direct rivals (Suns, Kings and Warriors) have done and check whether or not they still retain their privileged position.
With tonight’s match there will be four times that both teams have crossed paths in this regular season, with a momentary balance of 2-1 in favor of the Californians, and with the three games being played by a minimum of 17 points difference (that is, all three were won/lost by beating). The Smoothie King Center in New Orleans will host this battle, where an almost full house is expected and with the fans pushing as if from a Game 7 it was about.
The Lakers face the match with the lows but the least sensitive of Jarret Vanderbilt y Christian Woodwhile the Pelicans should be complete, with Brandon Ingram sufficiently recovered from his knee problems that have kept him sidelined since March 22.
Zion Williamson versus LeBron James.
WOLVES – SUNS
The Suns, for their part, and in addition to doing their homework, will require some outside help.
The first thing is to beat the Timberwolves, who despite aspiring to finish as leaders in the West They have fallen in direct duels into the jaws of those from Arizona this year (133-115 and 97-87), both in the Suns’ fiefdom. Today’s will be the first to be resolved in Minneapolis, with ESPN Analytics considering the Wolves slight favorites (53.4%)
There is no significant loss, and although Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards appear at the moment with the GTD banner, they will undoubtedly be in the game. Both teams are coming off an almost identical streak, having won three of their last five games. The lead and the playoffs without a pit stop meet today at the Target Center.
Media calls ‘undecided’
And all this includes just a third of what is at stake this afternoon, because as the League reminds us, 15 of the 20 positions that give access to the first phase of the postseason are yet to be determined. East and West in total boiling.
81 games down. 1 game left to play.
15 out of 20 seeds still undetermined.Sunday’s regular season finale with all 30 teams in action will be MUST WATCH BASKETBALL!
See how the final standings turn out tomorrow starting at 1:00pm/et on ESPN and the NBA App. pic.twitter.com/KV3tZbcpMV
— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2024
Clinch scenarios for Friday, April 12 ⬇️
All 30 @NBA teams are in action tonight! ➡️ pic.twitter.com/RyanFzpFz6
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 12, 2024
2024-04-14 10:38:08
#gain.. #lose
