NBA Playoff Picture Update: Warriors clinch full homecourt advantage
With just under two 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.
We’re No. 1: It’s official — the Golden State Warriors are the best team of the 2014-15 NBA regular season. With a 123-110 win at the Dallas Mavericks — their 12th in a row — the West’s No. 1 seed improved to 63-13 and ensured that they can finish with no worse a record than the Atlanta Hawks. Golden State also wins the second tiebreaker of record against the other conference, so they will hold homecourt advantage through the NBA Finals should they make it that far. That’s not a bad situation for a team that’s an astounding 35-2 at home.
The Warriors excelled on Saturday with their trademark balance — seven players scored in double figures, including four off the bench. They also had no players see more than Draymond Green’s 30 minutes, which suggests that everyone will see more rest now that they have accomplished their last remaining regular-season goal.
The Mavericks remain essentially locked into the No. 7 seed, so this result affects them primarily in terms of their form heading into the posteason. They got a bit of a scare when Rajon Rondo hyperextended his knee and did not return, but he was apparently available to come back if necessary.
Big Hawk Down? The Atlanta Hawks pulverized the Brooklyn Nets 131-99, but the bigger result may have been the shoulder injury to leading scorer and rebounder Paul Millsap. The two-time All-Star went down with 1:52 remaining in the first half during a collision with forward Earl Clark, grabbing his right shoulder and appearing in considerable return. He did not return, and the Hawks only said that his status will be evaluated and updated in upcoming days.
His eventual prognosis could determine the No.1 seed’s playoff fate. Atlanta has impressed this season with their balance, so it’s possible that missing a key player for one or two playoff games would not be a big deal. However, the Hawks looked merely average when Kyle Korver missed several games with a broken nose, and it’s hard to imagine the team getting too far in the postseason with Millsap on the bench for any sustained period of time. The Hawks are a good team regardless, but they will need a full complement of players to contend for a title.
The Nets saw their six-game winning streak come to an end, but results elsewhere mean that they’re still in seventh place by themselves. However, they’re now just a game ahead of ninth place, which means that they could very easily fall out of the postseason in upcoming days. Five of their final six games come against playoff teams.
News at 8: The major drama of the night came in the race for the No. 8 seed in the East, where the Miami Heat lost their spot after looking like a near-lock two weeks ago. Leading by nine heading into the fourth quarter, Miami blew their lead and went down 99-98 on this winning lay-up from Reggie Jackson with five seconds on the clock:
Jackson finished with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting with 11 assists. The good news for the Heat is that Dwyane Wade was able to play well (24 points on 11-of-18 FG) after suffering a knee injury on Thursday, but Saturday brought little promise to a team that was constructed to rebound from the loss of LeBron James as a mid-tier playoff squad at worst. It’s been a tough season in Miami full of plenty of bad luck, but missing out on the postseason would be a major disappointment. They can draw even with the Boston Celtics when they travel to the Indiana Pacers for Paul George’s season debut on Sunday.
Smart Guy: The Celtics swapped spots with the Heat via their own late-game buzzer-beater. After blowing a double-digit lead to allow the Toronto Raptors to force overtime, Marcus Smart threw in a lay-up at the buzzer to come away with a 117-116 win. Check it out here:
The Celtics don’t play again until Wednesday, so they’ll have a chance to rest up before finishing out their final five games, the last four of which come against playoff teams.
On the other side, the Raptors dropped to 1 1/2 games back of the Chicago Bulls in the race for the No. 3 seed. They can’t fall any farther due to having won the Atlantic Division, but they can give up homecourt advantage in the first round if they are caught by the Washington Wizards, now just a game back.
Ease on Down the Road: The Wizards held the Memphis Grizzlies to just 1-of-15 shooting from outside at the Grindhouse to come away with a 92-83 win. John Wall finished with 18 points and 14 assists. Washington is only a game back of the Raptors and faces the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, so they have a solid shot of making up more ground soon.
The Grizzlies’ loss drops them a half-game back of the Houston Rockets for No. 2 in the West. The Rockets travel to Oklahoma City for Sunday’s first game and can create some meaningful separation with a win.
Lost Opportunity: The New Orleans Pelicans lost a chance to tie the Oklahoma City Thunder and gain control of the West’s No. 8 seed by losing to the Portland Trail Blazers 99-90 at Moda Center. As such, they’re now a game behind OKC with a brutal schedule remaining over their final six games.
The win was a meaningful one for Portland — they’re now even with the Spurs at 50-26 and stayed a half-game behind the Los Angeles Clippers in their battle for homecourt advantage in the opening round.
Mess in the Middle: The Los Angeles Clippers moved a half-game ahead of the Spurs for 5th by traveling to Denver and besting the Nuggets 107-92. All five Clippers starters scored in double figures. Unless the Pelicans beat some tough teams, the contest between the Blazers, Spurs, and Clippers for homecourt looks like the best race in the West over the season’s final few contests.
Quickly: The Charlotte Hornets outlasted the Philadelphia 76ers 92-91 to draw even with the Pacers for 10th place at 33-43. Nevertheless, they finish with five of their last six games against playoff squads and should be considered unlikely postseason participants. … The No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Orlando Magic 97-90, but the Nets’ loss puts them in solid shape to hold onto their seed. … In the West, the Phoenix Suns topped the Utah Jazz 87-85 to improve to 39-38. Still, at 3 1/2 games back, they are essentially out of it.
Sunday’s Most Important Games
The seven games on the schedule start interesting and get less watchable as the day moves along. But the first four are pretty great:
Rockets at Thunder, 1:00 p.m. ET: The Rockets can open up a one-game lead on the Grizzlies for the West’s No. 2 seed with a win. Meanwhile, the Thunder can regain some of their once-sizable lead on the Pelicans and put pressure on New Orleans to beat a quality opponent.
Bulls at Cavaliers, 3:30 p.m. ET: The Bulls can turn the race for No. 2 and the Midwest Division into more than a mathematical possibility with a win. Chicago is now three games back but can make it a two-game margin with only five contests remaining for each team.
Heat at Pacers, 6:00 p.m. ET: The return of Paul George from last summer’s devastating broken leg is the big story here, but the Heat need a win to get back even with the Celtics. A Pacers win would put them even with Miami in ninth place.
Warriors at Spurs, 7:00 p.m. ET: The Warriors would seem likely to rest players on the second night of a road back-to-back with no real stakes and a potential second-round matchup against the Spurs looming. San Antonio will be looking for a win to tie the Clippers and move back ahead of the Blazers in the league’s most complicated race.
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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!
