10 NBA Storylines to Watch in the Final Week of the Season
Heading into the final week of the NBA regular season, we get the opportunity to witness history on many levels.
Among the biggest storylines is the saddest one—the retirement of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Even though his Lakers are one of the league's worst teams, that won't sully his final regular-season game: a home contest against the Utah Jazz next Wednesday.
But as big a deal as Kobe's farewell tour is, it's far from the only major storyline that extends deep into the playoffs and the offseason—and perhaps not even the most heralded one. A pair of Western Conference heavyweights are attempting to make their own history.
The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs each have impressive records to play for. While the Warriors are in pursuit of an unparalleled 73-win regular season, the Spurs are two wins away from their own unparalleled record: a perfect 41-0 at home.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a lot to prove as well—and not just to the league and their fans. In order to keep superstar Kevin Durant, they may very well have to piece together a deep playoff run.
Of all the major NBA storylines out there that will start to develop this week, which ones are the biggest and the most important?
Let's break down the can't-miss storylines that will shape the waning regular season.
No. 10: The Race for the Western Conference No. 5 Seed
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The Memphis Grizzlies have taken hits all season, yet here they stand, in pole position for the West's No. 5 seed. If they want to close the deal, however, they'll have to withstand another major hit.
With All-Star center Marc Gasol already out for the season with a broken foot, point guard Mike Conley appears to be done as well. Per ESPN's Marc Stein, Conley's Achilles injury is likely to sideline him for the remainder of the season.
Now that arguably the Grizzlies' two best players are done for the year, it's up to forward Zach Randolph to carry Memphis to its best possible playoff spot. So far, he's been up to the task, racking up 27 points and 10 rebounds in the team's 108-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
Of course, Memphis isn't the only team in hot pursuit of the No. 5 seed:
| Seed | Team | Wins | Losses | Games Back (of No. 5 Seed) |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 42 | 36 | — |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 37 | 0.5 |
| 7 | Dallas Mavericks | 39 | 38 | 2.5 |
| 8 | Utah Jazz | 39 | 39 | 3.0 |
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 38 | 39 | 3.5 |
As these standings indicate, the West is quite volatile. Theoretically, any of these teams could do as well as getting the No. 5 seed or as poorly as missing out on the playoffs entirely.
Right now, it appears to be primarily a two-team race between Memphis and Portland. Though the Grizzlies do have a game in hand, their schedule is far more rigorous: at Dallas, versus Golden State, at L.A. Clippers, at Golden State.
The Trail Blazers have a much lighter schedule (versus Oklahoma City, versus Minnesota, versus Denver), and they have also been far healthier. They have been led by their backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum but have also received significant production from their bench.
For now, Memphis holds on to the No. 5 seed, desperately hoping the likes of Randolph and the ageless Vince Carter can continue their production spike. By next Wednesday, we'll see if that hope has come to fruition.
No. 9: Chris Bosh's Return to the Heat
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Chris Bosh continues to deal with blood clot issues, but unlike last year, he is optimistic that he can return to the Miami Heat this season.
Back on Feb. 16, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported that Bosh had gotten back on blood thinners to help treat his blood clots and that he was hoping to return this season.
Nearly two months later, however, the Heat have made little progress in determining Bosh's status for the remainder of this campaign. Per Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post, head coach Erik Spoelstra announced on Tuesday that there were "no new updates" on Bosh's playing status for the rest of the season.
Perhaps the biggest complicating factor in Bosh's potential return is how far the Heat can advance in the playoffs. At this point, their first-round matchup could be against the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics or Charlotte Hornets.
Bosh may not be ready for that series, but if they advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, he could be good to go. However, Spoelstra may just consider the season somewhat of a "lost cause" and elect to shut Bosh down for the year instead of potentially complicating his recovery—even if Bosh himself may feel ready to return.
The 32-year-old power forward has averaged 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 2015-16 and was a star on the Miami teams of the early 2010s that dominated the East. His production would be sorely missed in the playoffs if he can't return, regardless of how far the Heat end up advancing.
No. 8: The Bulls' Choice Between Rebuilding and Reloading
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Before the Chicago Bulls have to make several major offseason decisions, they first have to claw their way into a playoff spot.
Entering Wednesday with a 39-39 record, the Bulls reside in the East's No. 9 seed, two games behind the No. 8 Detroit Pistons. With both teams having four regular-season contests remaining, the Bulls will likely need to win out and get some help from Detroit's opponents:
| Bulls' Remaining Schedule | Pistons' Remaining Schedule |
| at Miami | at Orlando |
| vs. Cleveland | vs. Washington |
| at New Orleans | vs. Miami |
| vs. Philadelphia | at Cleveland |
The first two games are the most pressing for the Bulls, particularly Cleveland. In order for them to win a playoff spot, they'll have to prove that they can beat some of the East's best teams.
The Pistons start off with a trap game against the Magic and follow that up with a game against the Wizards, who are also vying for a playoff spot. They could try to count on the Bulls foiling their own playoff chances, but if Chicago can surprise everyone and win at least one of its first two games, there could be quite an interesting race at the bottom of the East's playoff standings.
Regardless of how the postseason turns out for the Bulls, they'll have a handful of tough offseason decisions to make. First, they must decide whether to simply reload the roster's "spare parts" or embark on a full-out roster overhaul.
Unfortunately for Bulls fans, the latter appears to be the more viable option.
Pau Gasol is 35 years old and doesn't have many more years left in the league. Derrick Rose is entering the prime of his career, but injuries have derailed his status as one of the league's premier players. Joakim Noah has long been part of the Bulls core, but the 31-year-old is a free agent and a departure from the Windy City appears quite possible.
The team could also clarify its status with one move: trading Jimmy Butler.
The notion may seem absurd to some, but if the Bulls front office doesn't like the direction the team is headed in, then it's a reasonable option. The 26-year-old is one of the league's premier shooting guards, and the Bulls could gain some valuable assets by dealing him.
Butler has been adamant about his desire to stay, which is reasonable. But with Chicago looking to expand the roles of promising young players such as Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis, it could be a deal that pays great dividends down the road.
No. 7: The Lakers' Handling of the D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young Situation
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If the Lakers' last-place standing in the Western Conference wasn't enough to divide the locker room, D'Angelo Russell certainly divided it.
Last week, ESPN's Baxter Holmes and Marc Stein reported that, according to sources, Russell had filmed a private conversation between him and Young without Young's knowledge that later surfaced on social media. The conversation centered around Young "being with other women," even though he's been engaged to rapper Iggy Azalea since last June.
Naturally, this invasion of privacy didn't sit too well with the rest of the Lakers locker room.
The 20-year-old point guard's apology apparently didn't do the trick. The rest of the locker room reportedly isolated him from the rest of the team, including a particular incident in which veteran guard Lou Williams got up and walked away from Russell after the rookie tried to sit next to him.
Of course, this issue extends far beyond the waning games of the regular season, especially since the focus for now is giving Bryant his well-deserved sendoff. But in the offseason, the Lakers front office has some major decisions to make, and it appears it has already decided how to start.
According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will likely try to trade Young this offseason. They had tried unsuccessfully to deal him in the prior two offseasons.
This dilemma extends far beyond Young, who has continued to take heat after head coach Byron Scott noted that Young "is not here with us [the Lakers] mentally." It appears that a breakup between the Lakers and Young is mutually beneficial.
But even after dealing away Young, the Lakers are still faced with the trust issues surrounding Russell. As numerous analysts have noted in the wake of the story being brought to public light, it could take years for players to regain trust in Russell—if they ever do at all.
Keeping Russell and dealing Young is the right choice in this situation in terms of talent. But the 2016-17 NBA season could prove to be a disastrous one if the rest of the Lakers roster can't cope with Russell's presence.
No. 6: "Playoff Mode" LeBron Carrying the Cavaliers
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Each year, LeBron James seems to straighten out his team's issues (and his own) right in time for the playoffs.
The Cavaliers are on a conference-best four-game winning streak, in no small part because of James' elevated performance over the past several weeks.
James was recently named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March, after winning the same award in February. His monthly averages of 25.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.1 assists also made him the only player in the NBA to average 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per contest.
In the team's final four games, getting healthy for the playoffs has become a key objective. According to Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes, James will miss Wednesday night's matchup with the Indiana Pacers to get some rest.
In last year's playoffs, James was forced to carry the team even further in the wake of the injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Even though both are now healthy, it appears to be in the Cavaliers' best interest for James to be the center of the offense, given how well he has played as of late.
With the No. 1 seed all but locked up, the Cavs will likely have an opening-round matchup with the Pacers, Pistons or Bulls. It would be a shock if that series reached Game 6.
From there, things get a lot more difficult.
Over the next two rounds, the Cavaliers will likely have to face two of these three teams: the Celtics, Hawks and Raptors. Each team has improved over the past few weeks and could provide a great challenge for Cleveland, especially if LeBron struggles to find his shot.
Of course, triumphing over the East playoff gauntlet only brings Cleveland back to its predicament from last season: winning the NBA Finals.
Irving and Love will undoubtedly have to play major roles in the playoffs if the Cavs are to win their long-awaited NBA championship. But make no mistake: LeBron is perhaps the league's best player in the playoffs, and the team will rely on him to give it a much-needed push.
No. 5: Sorting Out the Nos. 3-6 Seeds in the East
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Much like the aforementioned race for the West's No. 5 seed, the East holds its own close competition in determining the Nos. 3-6 seeds. But unlike the West's No. 5 seed, there's far more at stake in the East.
Prior to Wednesday night's games, here are the current Nos. 3-7 seeds in the East:
| Seed | Team | Wins | Losses | Games Back (of No. 3 Seed) |
| 3 | Atlanta Hawks | 46 | 32 | — |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 45 | 32 | 0.5 |
| 5 | Miami Heat | 45 | 32 | 0.5 |
| 6 | Charlotte Hornets | 44 | 33 | 1.5 |
| 7 | Indiana Pacers | 41 | 36 | 3.5 |
The Pacers could certainly move up the standings, but they'd be hard-pressed to overtake the Hornets. The Celtics and Heat could also tighten the race by winning their game in hand, forcing a three-way tie for the East's No. 3 seed.
So why is the No. 3 seed so coveted?
The top two seeds—Cleveland and Toronto, respectively—are both very tough teams but particularly the Cavs. In addition to facing the weaker No. 6 seed in the first round, the No. 3 seed would be able to avoid Cleveland until the conference finals (should it advance that far).
Boston has an excellent chance to knock the Hawks and Heat off their path. It has two must-win games coming up to help it get the No. 3 seed: at Atlanta on Saturday and versus Miami next Wednesday to close out the regular season.
Conversely, the Hawks and Heat could thin out the competition if they can win their respective games against the Celtics.
The Hornets could be a very surprising threat from the No. 6 slot, especially with how well Kemba Walker has played lately. They could make some noise in the playoffs, and nabbing the No. 3 seed would add a nice home-court benefit to that threat.
Overall, the East is far more wide-open than the West. Whereas the Warriors and Spurs are by far the two best options to win the West, the No. 3 seed in the East will receive a golden opportunity to end up winning the conference.
No. 4: Thunder's Playoff Status Could Shape Kevin Durant's Decision
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The rumors about Kevin Durant's future have been swirling for quite some time, but the Thunder can help put some of those possibilities to bed with a strong playoff performance.
With a 4.5-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 3 seed in the West, the Thunder are poised for a surprising playoff run of their own. A potential second-round matchup with the Spurs isn't ideal, but they would at least get to avoid the Warriors for another round—provided they can pull off the impossible and steal a game or two from the Spurs at home.
It's unclear how much (if any) impact Oklahoma City's postseason performance will have on Durant's decision. However, SI.com's Andrew Sharp broke down Durant's possible options, as well as the likelihood of his ending up on each team.
Sharp lists the Thunder as the favorites to retain Durant, giving them 35 percent odds to retain him. The remaining teams are the Lakers (20 percent), Celtics (15 percent), Clippers (15 percent), Warriors (9 percent), Heat (5 percent) and Wizards (1 percent).
Though he has the Thunder as the favorites for Durant, he also states that he thinks Durant isn't really sure what he wants to do at this point.
In other words, the Thunder can save themselves a lot of time and worry with a deep playoff run that they're absolutely capable of making.
No. 3: The Spurs' Pursuit of Home-Court Perfection
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All season long, the Warriors have been favored to break numerous regular-season records, while the Spurs sat quietly in the background. Now the tables have turned.
While Golden State has dropped out of the running for an undefeated home record (and in turn, the best single-season home record ever), the Spurs enter Wednesday 39-0 in San Antonio and have only two home contests remaining: the Warriors and Thunder. The former game could give them the opportunity to ruin the Warriors' 73-win quest in dramatic fashion.
Of course, head coach Gregg Popovich downplayed the possibility of receiving the record as usual, noting that it would mean "absolutely nothing." But even beyond the record, defeating the Spurs and Thunder at home makes a big statement heading into the playoffs.
With all due respect to the rest of the West's playoff teams (especially the Clippers), Golden State and Oklahoma City are the only two teams that have a realistic shot at taking down the Spurs in the conference rounds. If the Spurs can thwart their confidence—even a little—it would be another boost for a team that is all about playoff success.
And hey, Popovich may not care, but 41-0 at home is a pretty big deal.
No. 2: Kobe Bryant's Memorable Farewell
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With all the turmoil surrounding the Lakers' locker room dilemma (much less the rest of the NBA turmoil), we've somewhat lost sight of the fact that there are but five games remaining in Bryant's illustrious career.
The Lakers' final regular-season game against the Jazz next Wednesday will be a memorable one, but it certainly won't come easy for Los Angeles. Utah sits at No. 8 in the West, but that game could very well determine whether or not it makes the playoffs.
Side note: If you're a big Kobe fan and want to go to that game, you'll have to break open the piggy bank...and dip into that savings account as well.
For some Lakers fans, Wednesday's penultimate home game against the Clippers could be a mini-farewell to Kobe, since it would be ludicrous to shell out the $700 per-ticket minimum for that final game. It will be interesting to see if Kobe puts on another shooting clinic, after dropping 34 points on the Celtics last game.
After facing off against the Clippers, he'll make his final visits to New Orleans, Houston and Oklahoma City, likely to a standing ovation from the crowd.
Then it's back to the Staples Center for the closing chapter of Kobe's 20-year, Hall of Fame-caliber career.
No. 1: The Warriors' Pursuit of Win No. 73
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As it has been for practically the entire NBA season, the Warriors' quest to win 73 regular-season contests is the biggest storyline in the final week of the regular season.
Last Wednesday, things looked good for Golden State. It was coming off a tough overtime road victory against the Utah Jazz and had an imminent four-game home streak that included games against the battered Celtics and hapless Timberwolves.
Then the wheels came off.
After losing their 54-game home streak to the Celtics, the Warriors blew a 17-point second-half lead to the Timberwolves on Tuesday night, eventually dropping the contest in overtime.
At 69-9, Golden State has four contests remaining: two against Memphis and two against the Spurs. Per FiveThirtyEight, it has just a 13.4 percent chance of winning out to break the record.
Head coach Steve Kerr has some tough decisions to make. As nice as it would be to boast the best regular-season record ever, the ultimate season goal is winning back-to-back championships. Jeopardizing that by diverting additional effort toward winning regular-season games could prove to be a grave mistake.
And if the Warriors do break the record but don't win another NBA championship, then what does that get them? Nothing but an ignored footnote in regular-season history alongside teams such as the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, 2001 Seattle Mariners and 2007 New England Patriots.
Golden State should be able to handle the depleted Grizzlies, but defeating the Spurs at home seems like an almost insurmountable task. Still, when the two teams meet at the AT&T Center on Sunday, it could be the Warriors' chance to make a definitive statement heading into the playoffs—whether or not they reach win No. 73 before then.
All statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
