The regular season in the NBA is coming to an end, some important decisions are still pending. Everything you need to know about the final stretch of the best league in the world.
Things are getting very tight for the Lakers around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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Some decisions have already been made a few games before the end of the NBA season. Four teams each have already been determined for the play-offs in East and West. Miami, Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Memphis, Dallas and Golden State are allowed to plan for the postseason. In some cases, this is only about the exact final placement.
Conversely, this means that there are still two safe play-off spots open in both the east and west. In the east, the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors hold the best cards, both teams two wins clear of seventh place with four games left in the season. And currently seventh-placed Cleveland has even played one more game.
In the West, things are currently looking good for Denver and Utah. The Nuggets have two more wins than seventh-ranked Minnesota — and both teams have just three matches left. The Jazz are sixth and have one more win than the Timberwolves, but Utah has four games left. From place 8, no team can go directly into the play-offs. Incidentally, if the number of wins is the same, the direct comparison counts.
It’s going to be tight for the Lakers
In contrast to previous years, the NBA introduced the so-called play-in tournament in 2020 (more on that in a moment), which means that even more teams can hope for the play-offs. Because places 7 to 10 play out two more tickets for the postseason after the regular season. A lot is already clear in this regard in the east, because all teams from 11th place already have no chance of the play-offs and should already be mentally in the summer break. Cleveland and Atlanta still have small to minimal chances for sixth place, Charlotte and Brooklyn are safe in the play-in tournament, it’s all about the final placement, which is not unimportant.
The situation in the west is more exciting, because with the Lakers a heavyweight is fighting not to have to go into the summer break early. For Los Angeles, however, it looks very bad, because LeBron James & Co. are four games before the end, two wins behind the Spurs – and have lost the direct comparison. The gap to the ninth New Orleans is three wins – and here, too, the direct comparison was lost. It would all have to come together if the 2020 champion still wants to reach 10th place. The other club from LA, the Clippers, meanwhile, are sure to be in eighth place. The seventh Minnesota is still hoping for 5th or 6th place.
How does the play-in tournament work?
But how exactly does this play-in tournament, in which the two missing play-off participants are determined in each conference, work? The seventh enjoys home rights and plays against the eighth. The winner of this game gets rank 7 in the final table and is qualified for the play-offs. The loser has to go again. And against the winner of the duel between the ninth and the tenth, where the ninth has home rights. The loser of this game is on summer break, the winner needs another win. Thus, the seventh and eighth in the final table have an advantage, they only need one more win, while the ninth and tenth need two successes for the postseason.
The tables in the NBA.
