NBA playoffs: Everything you need to know - Western Conference edition
With six games to go for most teams in the Western Conference, the race for the final NBA playoff and play-in spots have really heated up.
The Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies all have 44 wins up to this point, and with the last two guaranteed playoff places available, there is a lot left to play for.
With the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth seeds to be made up by those four teams, the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns are left to fight for the remaining two places in the play-in.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Dylan Richardson analyses each team’s recent form and offers a prediction of who will make it.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are 7-3 in their last 10 games, finding themselves as the fifth seed.
Since trading for Jimmy Butler on the trade deadline to join up with Stephen Curry, Golden State have been one of the best teams in the NBA, so you would fancy them to clinch a playoff spot.
In the last 10 games, Curry and Butler have combined for an average of 40.8 points per game, with Brandin Bodziemski adding 15.7 a game in their positive run.
While the Warriors have been on a good run in the last month, they still have the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets to play, as well as a big face-off against the Clippers, which could be huge in deciding the standings.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Like the Warriors, Minnesota have also had a positive 7-3 record over their last 10 games, leaving themselves with 44 wins and 32 losses with six to play.
Anthony Edwards has continued to dominate over that period, averaging 27.8 points per game as well as 4.5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Julius Randle has also contributed 20 points a night, with former four-time defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert bringing 13 points and 12 rebounds per game.
In their remaining six games, the Timberwolves have favourable matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz, as well as having the Brooklyn Nets to play twice.
The big game for the Timberwolves is the visit of the Memphis Grizzlies, who also have 44 wins on the season.
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Los Angeles Clippers
Aside from the first seed, Oklahoma City Thunder, the Clippers have had the best record in the last 10 games, winning eight.
After elevating themselves also to 44 wins, the Clippers could be a late surprise package for a playoff run.
Kawhi Leonard and James Harden have been nearly unstoppable over the last 10, combining for an average of 48 points per game in that time.
Ivica Zubac has added to that by contributing effectively on both ends of the court, bringing 18.3 points and 12.6 assists a night, as well as averaging 1.2 blocks.
The Clippers have a relatively difficult run-in, however, having back-to-back games against the Mavericks in Dallas, as well as having to face fellow post-season contenders Sacramento, Houston and Golden State.
Memphis Grizzlies
Despite having a good first half of the regular season, the last month has been nothing short of a mess for the Memphis Grizzlies.
After struggling towards the end of the season, General Manager Zach Kleiman made the decision to fire the Head Coach of six years - Taylor Jenkins - just nine games before the playoffs were due to start, leaving the NBA community shocked.
Star guard Ja Morant missed six games in a row, which is never ideal in the stretch, but the 25-year-old has come back and averaged 28 points in their last three games.
With a defensive player of the year calibre player, Jaren Jackson Jr., on the roster as well as Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama, it is difficult to comprehend where it went wrong for the Grizzlies this season.
Being 2-8 in their last 10 games, including a current four-game loss streak, the Grizzlies may now find it difficult to make the playoffs, still having the Timberwolves, Mavericks and Denver Nuggets in their remaining six games.
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Dallas Mavericks
Two months ago, the Mavericks traded 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, leaving the entire NBA shocked.
Fast forward to the current day, and Davis has just made his sixth appearance for the Mavs, while co-star Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the season and a league chunk of next after tearing his ACL in March.
Despite only Naji Marshall, Spencer Dinwiddie and Max Christie being the only three players to feature in each of the last 10 games, Dallas still find themselves 5-5 in that time and are now three wins better off than the 11th-seed Phoenix Suns.
Dinwiddie, Marshall and P.J Washington have done a solid job of keeping the team’s play-in hopes alive with 16.1, 17.5 and 21.6 points per game, respectively.
With Davis averaging 18.2, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in the last five games, the 32-year-old has returned from injury at the perfect time, still having the Lakers and Grizzlies to play, as well as back-to-back games against the red hot Clippers in their last five.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings are another one of the teams with a negative record in their last 10 games, being 3-7 and being on a three-game losing streak.
With a 36-40 record over the course of the regular season, Sacramento are just about hanging onto the 10th seed for now but will be looking closely over their shoulder for the remainder of the season.
DeMar DeRozan, Zach Lavine and Malik Monk have all averaged more than 17 points per game over the last 10.
Other than Domantas Sabonis (15.6 points and 13.4 rebounds) and Keegan Murray (14.9 points), no other player on the roster has averaged more than 10 points per game during the run, leaving a lot of pressure on the stars.
In their remaining six games, the Kings still have the Cleveland Cavaliers and LA Clippers to play, as well as facing Phoenix in the last game of the regular season, which could be key to winning a play-in place.
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Phoenix Suns
The Suns have had a disappointing season from their perspective but with a 5-5 record in their last 10 games, as well as the collapse of the Sacramento Kings, they sit just one win behind Sacramento in the search of a play-in place.
Stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant have combined for an average of 49 points per game over that run, with the former also averaging 8.9 assists a night.
The problem for the Suns is similar to that of the Kings - the role players not contributing a great deal to the team, with only Tyus Jones (11), Ryan Dunn (10.6) and Nick Richards (10.1) bringing more than 10 points per game in that time.
While anything is possible when you have Durant and Booker at your disposal, Phoenix have a difficult run in, still needing to face three of the four best teams in the association, the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks and last year’s champions, the Boston Celtics.
Alongside those tough games, the Suns also still have the Warriors and Kings to play in their six remaining games.
Dylan’s prediction for the playoff race
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
6. Golden State Warriors
7. Los Angeles Clippers
8. Dallas Mavericks
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Sacramento Kings
To miss out:
11. Phoenix Suns
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