The last day of the NBA regular season is going to be absolute cinema as all 30 teams in the association will suit up and grace the parquet floors.
Some teams, like the Boston Celtics, LA Clippers, and Dallas Mavericks, already have their playoff spots locked in. The Celtics have been the team to beat in the East, and this SBOTOP writer doesn’t even remember the time when the Celtics weren’t the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, but it’s an entirely different story in the Wild West.
The LA Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks have secured the fourth and fifth spots in the West, respectively, and will face each other in the first round of the postseason.
Well, that’s basically where certainty ends, as literally all but three spots in the entire playoff picture are still to be determined on the last day of the regular season.
The OKC Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets have been wrestling each other for the top seed in the West. The first, second, and third spots in the Western Conference are still undetermined, but the Nuggets are still the NBA 2024 odds favourites to champion the West when the postseason reaches the finals.
On the other end of the playoff picture, the Suns and the Pelicans will have a photo finish to determine who will enter the postseason as the sixth and seventh seeds, respectively. This might be the most important match for both teams this season, as the loser will have to enter the Play-In Tournament along with the Lakers, Kings, and Warriors, while the winner will have automatic playoff contention.
As for the Play-in Tournament, the theme of “up for grabs” is still prevalent. The Lakers, Kings, and Warriors are all entitled to enter the Play-In as the eighth seed, which is currently held by the Lakers thanks to their dominant tail-end run.
In the East, more is the same. Actually, it’s more chaotic than the West, as only the top spot is secured. In not-so-new NBA 2024 news, the Boston Celtics clinched playoff berth as early as March have the No. 1 seed in the East locked, facing little to no resistance en route to boot.
Meanwhile, the Bucks, Knicks, and Cavs are in a three-way match for the second, third, and fourth spots. The Bucks and the Knicks are currently tied with a 49-32 record, all thanks to a four-game winning streak from the Knicks and the heroics of their All-Star Jalen Brunson. The Cavs, on the other hand, are just one game behind and are hoping to sneak past both the Bucks and the Knicks with a win over the struggling Hornets.
While the Bulls and the Hawks are already locked in the Play-In Tournament as the ninth and tenth seeds, the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat are tussling for the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth spots, respectively.
The return of Joel Embiid for the Sixers came in the nick of time for Nick Nurse and the rest of the 76ers, as they’ll lean on the dominance of their MVP to secure the fifth or sixth seed and avoid the Play-In Tournament altogether.
The Sixers will face off against Bridges and the Nets; the Pacers will fend off the Hawks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse; the Heat will host the rebuilding Raptors; and the Magic will lock horns with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Nikola Jokic lands the No. 1 spot in the MVP ladder
Like the regular season standings, the MVP race has also been neck-and-neck, but it’s the Nuggets big man who has the top spot in the MVP ladder at this stage of the season.
The Joker ranks first in total plus-minus, second in total assists, third in total rebounds, and fifth in total points with a 69.8 per cent true shooting percentage in clutch situations, all enwrapped with 26.6 ppg, 12.4 rpg, and 9.0 apg averages for the whole season.
OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Mavs’ Luka Doncic are still making a case for themselves, as they both are also putting up MVP-worthy statistics, performances, and winning records, but Jokic’s 41-point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves could be more than enough for the Serbian to pick up his third MVP award.
Will the Clippers have Kawhi back in time for the playoffs?
The Clippers, led by Paul George, have been one of the hottest teams in the league, winning seven of their last nine and being 7-3 in their last 10, but they’ve done this largely without the contribution of their No. 1 option, Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard has been battling knee inflammation and has been out of commission since April 3. This raises lots of concerns for Clippers fans, as the playoffs are practically within arm’s reach. And the fact that they’ll be playing a formidable adversary in the Dallas Mavericks doesn’t ease their concerns one bit.
“It’s no secret he’s had a couple surgeries to that knee. It’s not uncommon over the course of it where you deal with inflammation. With inflammation, it limits your ability to make some natural basketball moves, so he’s working his tail off, the staff is working their tail off to try to help with the inflammation,” Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank recently stated.
Still, there is no confirmation whether the two-time NBA champion will be fit for their first-round clash against the Mavs. Clips fans can only hope and pray that PG13 can continue to keep the ship afloat if Leonard doesn’t recover in time.
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