We’re down to the last few days of the 2020-21 NBA regular season, as most teams either have three or four games remaining in their 72-game slates. Seven of the league’s 30 teams have been eliminated from possible postseason play; in the Eastern Conference, 11 teams remain eligible for the 10 slots, although Chicago is 2 ½ games behind tenth-place Washington with four games to play. In the Western Conference, 12 teams remain alive, with New Orleans 2 ½ games back of tenth-place San Antonio with three games to play, and with Sacramento three games behind those Spurs with four games left. The seventh- through tenth-place teams take part in a brief play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth seeds.
Let’s take a look at the updated standings for teams that can still make the postseason, along with some NBA betting thoughts about the playoffs.
NBA News: Playoff Updates
Western Conference
| Team | W | L | GB | Games Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Jazz* | 50 | 19 | – | 3 |
| Phoenix Suns* | 48 | 20 | 1 ½ | 4 |
| L.A. Clippers* | 45 | 23 | 4 ½ | 4 |
| Denver Nuggets* | 44 | 24 | 5 ½ | 4 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 40 | 28 | 9 ½ | 4 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 40 | 29 | 10 | 3 |
| L.A. Lakers | 38 | 30 | 11 ½ | 4 |
| Golden State | 36 | 33 | 14 | 3 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 35 | 33 | 14 ½ | 4 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 33 | 35 | 16 ½ | 4 |
| New Orleans | 31 | 38 | 19 | 3 |
| Sacramento Kings | 30 | 38 | 19 ½ | 4 |
Eastern Conference
| Team | W | L | GB | Games Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers* | 47 | 21 | – | 4 |
| Brooklyn Nets* | 44 | 24 | 3 | 4 |
| Milwaukee Bucks* | 43 | 25 | 4 | 4 |
| New York Knicks | 38 | 30 | 9 | 4 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 38 | 31 | 9 ½ | 3 |
| Miami Heat | 37 | 31 | 10 | 4 |
| Boston Celtics | 35 | 33 | 12 | 4 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 33 | 35 | 14 | 4 |
| Indiana Pacers | 32 | 36 | 15 | 4 |
| Washington Wizards | 32 | 37 | 15 ½ | 3 |
| Chicago Bulls | 29 | 39 | 18 | 4 |
Golden State beat Utah on Monday night, which means that the Phoenix Suns are now just one loss behind Utah — and the Suns hold the tiebreaker. Golden State plays Phoenix on Tuesday night, and if the Suns win, the West’s top tier will be very suspenseful down the stretch. The Los Angeles Lakers also play Tuesday night, taking on the New York Knicks. LeBron James is taking one more day of rest for his ankle, though, so the Lakers will not have their top star against a New York team that is angling to avoid the play-in tournament. The Lakers need to win out if they want to avoid the play-in tournament, and having LeBron sit again is not optimal for that. They are in seventh in the West, one back of Portland in the loss column, but Portland has the tiebreaker.
Portland, the Lakers and Dallas could end up in a three-way tie; if that happens, the Mavericks would hold the fifth seed as they wer the only division champion in that group. Dallas would clinch a spot in the top six with two more wins; they visit Memphis on Tuesday, and then they host New Orleans on Wednesday. They finish with home games against Toronto and Minnesota. If the Lakers lose once, the Mavericks would only need one win to avoid the play-in, so this could be done Tuesday night, if the Knicks prevail and the Mavericks win in Memphis. If that three-way tie happened, Portland would finish in seventh, as the Lakers have a better record against Western Conference opponents, which is the second tiebreaker.
In the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia has basically locked up the top seed, leading the Nets by three losses and holding the tiebreaker. Brooklyn has some consistency issues, as they have not played well the last couple of weeks. James Harden continues to have hamstring issues, and the team’s defense has not stood tall in key games. Interestingly, Milwaukee has the tiebreaker over both Brooklyn and Philadelphia, so if the 76ers collapse this week, they could end up sliding all the way to the three-seed.
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