NBA Playoff Picture 2018: Latest Standings, Projections for Western Conference
With less than two weeks remaining on the NBA's 2017-18 schedule, the Western Conference playoff picture still looks fuzzy.
The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors will occupy the first and second seeds. The breakdown behind them is to be determined.
Two current playoff teams have fallen to the lottery-bound Memphis Grizzlies in the span of three nights. The seemingly reeling Minnesota Timberwolves just got a franchise-record 56 points out of Karl-Anthony Towns. No one seems to know if or when the San Antonio Spurs will get Kawhi Leonard back.
With a traffic jam spanning from seeds three through 10, and the teams involved trending in all different directions, it's a good time to check in on the latest standings and make sense of what's happening in the Wild West.
Western Conference Standings
1. y-Houston Rockets: 61-14
2. y-Golden State Warriors: 54-20
3. Portland Trail Blazers: 46-29
4. Oklahoma City Thunder: 44-31
5. New Orleans Pelicans: 43-32
6. San Antonio Spurs: 43-32
7. Minnesota Timberwolves: 43-33
8. Utah Jazz: 42-33
9. Los Angeles Clippers: 41-34
10. Denver Nuggets: 40-35
11. e-Los Angeles Lakers: 33-41
12. e-Sacramento Kings: 24-51
13. e-Dallas Mavericks: 23-52
14. e-Memphis Grizzlies: 21-54
15. e-Phoenix Suns: 19-57
*y-clinched a division title; e-eliminated from playoff contention
Projected Playoff Field
Let's get the easy call out of the way first—the top two seeds aren't changing.
The Houston Rockets aren't mathematically guaranteed to grab the top spot, but they might as well be. They're not only rolling on yet another double-digit winning streak—their third of the season—they're basically running unopposed given the Golden State Warriors' myriad injury issues. The defending champs, meanwhile, can't slip lower than second.
So, what happens next?
The Portland Trail Blazers have to like their chances of sticking at No. 3. They've only lost three games since the All-Star break—second-fewest in that stretch—and the most recent defeat came without Damian Lillard (personal) and Maurice Harkless (arthroscopic knee surgery).
Lillard, by the way, is sprinting toward a potential All-NBA first-team selection. He hasn't tallied fewer than 20 points since early February and is one of only two players ranking among the top 15 in scoring (fifth) and assists (tied for 12th).
The other spots all feel like coin flips, but that won't work for a prediction piece.
So, we'll say the Oklahoma City Thunder stick at fourth. They have two losses in their last nine games (by a total of four points) and count victories over the Spurs, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers in that stretch. Russell Westbrook is almost averaging a triple-double again (25.4 points, 10.2 assists and 9.7 rebounds). They're good enough to navigate a brutal end-of-season slate.
Our first change comes at five, where we see the 'Wolves jumping up two slots. They have the easiest remaining schedule among the West's playoff teams, and there's a chance Jimmy Butler will be around to help with some of that. If not, Towns just showed how he's capable of keeping this team afloat.
The sixth seed also features a leaper in the Utah Jazz. They have 2018's best defense, and they could claim both Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert) and Rookie of the Year (Donovan Mitchell). Throw out a slip-up against the Atlanta Hawks, and Utah's only defeats in March are an overtime loss in San Antonio (second night of a back-to-back) and Wednesday's 97-94 nailbiter against the Boston Celtics.
No. 7 goes to the Kawhi-less (for now, at least) Spurs, who have managed to field the Association's third-best defense without him. Assuming LaMarcus Aldridge's left knee contusion doesn't linger, they'll find enough offense to stretch their absurd playoff streak to a 21st season.
The eighth and final spot belongs to the New Orleans Pelicans, who have both a two-game buffer on the No. 9 seed and the best player among the three teams in contention. Anthony Davis' post-DeMarcus Cousins injury numbers suggest he probably isn't human (31.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.1 blocks), and Jrue Holiday is playing the best basketball of his career (19.0 points, 5.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds).
That leaves the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets out in the cold. But hey, every day bringing us closer to this postseason also nudges us toward the next one.
Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.
