Most of the NBA’s teams have five to seven games remaining in the regular season, and there is still a lot of movement that teams can make. In the Eastern Conference, the top ten teams are just about set, but only 4 ½ games separate first place from sixth, and only four games separate fifth place from eighth. So movement as far as settling homecourt advantage and escaping the play-in tournament are both extremely possible. In the Western Conference, the Suns have already clinched the top seed and the best record in the NBA, with 62 wins so far – and a chance to push that number as high as 68. Only three games separate fifth place from seventh right now, as Minnesota is pushing hard to catch Utah and move out of the play-in tournament, and the Lakers are struggling just to make the playoffs, as both Anthony Davis and LeBron are out with injuries and the team is just a half-game ahead of San Antonio in tenth place. Let’s take a look at the NBA odds for your wagering, and our thoughts on the last few games.
NBA News: Two Weeks Left in the Regular Season
Eastern Conference
| Place | Team | Record | Games Back |
| 1 | Miami Heat (x) | 49-28 | – |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | 47-28 | 1 |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | 46-29 | 2 |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 47-30 | 2 |
| 5 | Chicago Bulls | 44-32 | 4 ½ |
| 6 | Toronto Raptors | 44-32 | 4 ½ |
| 7 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 42-34 | 6 ½ |
| 8 | Brooklyn Nets | 40-36 | 8 ½ |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 40-37 | 9 |
| 10 | Atlanta Hawks | 39-37 | 9 ½ |
| N.Y. Knicks | 34-43 | 15 | |
| Washington Wizards | 33-43 | 15 ½ |
(Indiana, Detroit and Orlando have been eliminated)
- X = clinched division
- Y = clinched best record in the league
- Z = clinched playoff spot
Western Conference
| Place | Team | Record | Games Back |
| 1 | Phoenix Suns (y) | 62-14 | – |
| 2 | Memphis Grizzlies (x) | 54-23 | 8 ½ |
| 3 | Dallas Mavericks (z) | 48-29 | 14 ½ |
| 4 | Golden State Warriors | 48-29 | 14 ½ |
| 5 | Denver Nuggets | 46-31 | 16 ½ |
| 6 | Utah Jazz | 45-31 | 17 |
| 7 | Minnesota T’wolves | 43-34 | 19 ½ |
| 8 | L.A. Clippers | 37-39 | 25 |
| 9 | N.O. Pelicans | 33-43 | 29 |
| 10 | L.A. Lakers | 31-44 | 30 ½ |
| San Antonio Spurs | 31-45 | 31 | |
| Sacramento Kings | 28-49 | 34 ½ | |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 27-49 | 35 |
(Oklahoma City and Houston have been eliminated)
- X = clinched division
- Y = clinched best record in the league
- Z = clinched playoff spot
Memphis has shown a special kind of resilience, as they have only lost two games all season when their top scorer, Ja Morant, had to miss the action. That includes four wins in the last week alone, as Desmond Bane, De’Anthony Metlon and Dillon Brooks each averaged 20 or more points per game in those four wins, and Tyus Jones took the point quite nicely, averaging 14 points and 6.8 assists per contest, while shooting 48 percent from behind the arc. The defense has also been elite, permitting only 103.3 points per 100 possessions in those wins.
Boston may have gotten a bit of a wakeup call this week. After a monster stretch that included a rout of Minnesota at the start of the week, the Celtics lost to Toronto (while having to play without four of their starters) and then also lost to a Miami team with their starters mostly back. Jayson Tatum only shot 31 percent from behind the arc over those two games, but the team needs Robert Williams back to anchor the defense.
Dallas got routed in Minnesota last Friday but then took down Utah, the Lakers and Cleveland to snag one of the top six spots in the West. Luka Doncic has averaged 31.3 points, 10.3 boards and 9.5 assists over those three wins, and the team scored 130.2 points per 100 possessions over that stretch.
Can Philadelphia get defensive stops in the playoffs? They demolished the Clippers but then lost to Phoenix and Milwaukee in showdowns against the rest of the league’s best teams. Joel Embiid put up 31 points, 13 boards and 3.7 assists per game in those three contests, shooting 46 percent from behind the arc, while James Harden averaged 25 points, nine boards and 8.3 assist, shooting 42 percent from downtown…but the team went 1-2.
NBA Betting Odds
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