NBA Playoff Picture Update: Brooklyn begins to separate from a crowded field
With just a few weeks remaining until the NBA postseason, every night can impact the standings. NBA Playoff Picture keeps you up to date on all the most important news for all 16 berths and seeds.
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Stuck with the Nets: Among the four squads vying for the East’s eighth and final playoff spot, the Brooklyn Nets stand out as the team that most needs to reach the postseason to avoid a crushingly disappointing season. Perhaps it should be no surprise, then, that they are in the best form of any of those contenders.
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Brooklyn continued their ascent to mediocrity on Tuesday with a very important home game with the Indiana Pacers, the conference’s 10th-place team that still could have swapped spots with the Nets with a win. Yet the hosts controlled the game most of the way and iced the game with this Joe Johnson three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in regulation:
The Nets eventually won 111-106 as Brook Lopez scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half, Johnson finished with 21, and Alan Anderson added 20 in 24 minutes off the bench. That victory broke a virtual tie with the Boston Celtics to move Brooklyn into sole possession of the No. 8 seed at 33-40. They have a chance to move further ahead with a game against the NBA-worst New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
The Pacers will factor into that calculation, as well, because they travel to Boston to face the Celtics in a game that tips off at the exact same time. Indiana is now 1 1/2 games back of Brooklyn in 10th place but can pass the Celtics with a win by turning their season series into a 2-2 stalemate and holding the edge in the subsequent conference record tiebreaker.
Analyze Clips: The Los Angeles Clippers entered Wednesday’s contest with the Golden State Warriors seemingly in a good position, having won seven straight and facing a team that had just clinched the conference and had already decided to sit Draymond Green. The result, however, suggested that it may have been smarter to pay more attention to the competition for those seven wins — just two teams over .500 — rather than the amount.
After getting out to a 30-18 lead after one quarter, the Clippers allowed the Warriors back into the game and struggled in the decisive fourth quarter — seven turnovers and 3-of-13 shooting from the field — on their way to an uninspiring 110-106 loss. Plenty of good teams have fallen to the NBA-best Warriors by worse scores this season, but this was not a typical Golden State performance. Apart from the absence of Green, Steve Kerr opted for some odd lineups throughout as the team seemed compelled to win primarily by their longstanding dislike of their opponents. Yes, Stephen Curry was great with 27 points in 36 minutes, but the Warriors generally appeared to lack their usual killer instinct. Which isn’t to say they weren’t vicious:
It was a very bad loss for a Clippers team that has now lost homecourt advantage in the first round to the Portland Trail Blazers via having played and split two extra games. Worse yet, they are now just a half-game (or one win) ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 5 seed, which could drop them into a much more difficult first-round matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies or Houston Rockets. Wednesday’s trip to Portland now stands as a major contest for both teams.
On the other side, the Warriors virtually guaranteed themselves of finishing with the best record in the league. The Atlanta Hawks lost to the Detroit Pistons earlier in the night — head coach Mike Budenholzer opted for mass five-man substitutions throughout — to give Golden State a 5 1/2-game lead with only eight games left on their schedule.
Spurs of the Moment: The Clippers’ loss should only add to the confidence level of the red-hot San Antonio Spurs, who handled the Miami Heat 95-81 to confirm their status as the team no Western Conference contender wants to play in the first or second round. Kawhi Leonard (22 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals, two blocks) did everything and has established himself as the team’s most important player.
The Spurs are favored to win Wednesday at the Orlando Magic and don’t play other team with anything to lose until next Tuesday at the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s time to fear San Antonio, everyone.
Wednesday’s Most Important Games
Pacers at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET: The Nets will probably remain in the eighth spot regardless, but this result should go a long way towards clarifying a crowded field. A Celtics loss would drop them into 10th and create some separation between the Nets and ninth, while a Pacers loss would drive them 2 1/2 games back. Of course, this all assumes that the Nets beat the Knicks, and for all we know something really weird will happen to ensure that we write about this race right up until the last game of the season.
Mavericks at Thunder, 8:00 p.m. ET: The Mavericks look unlikely to catch the Spurs and are three games ahead of the Thunder, so this game matters to them primarily as a chance to raise their chances of finishing no worse than the No. 7 seed. The Thunder have more scenarios — a win would allow them to entertain avoiding the Warriors in the first round, while a loss would combine with a Pelicans victory over the Los Angeles Lakers to give them just a 1 1/2-game lead in the conference’s final playoff spot. So, you know, expect Russell Westbrook to play even harder than usual.
Clippers at Trail Blazers, 10:00 p.m. ET: As we said above, the Clippers need to win to avoid a potential fall into the No. 6 seed. The Blazers are looking for a victory to ensure they don’t fall into the same situation they had on Wednesday morning — the No. 4 seed without homecourt advantage against a team with a superior record (in this case the Spurs). Given the quality of the teams and the stakes, this is probably the best game of the night.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
