NBA Playoffs: Five Teams with a Chance of Sneaking into the Playoffs
There are only a few weeks left until the end of the NBA season. Seven of the 16 possible playoff spots have already been clinched, and a few of the remaining spots are almost locked up.
At the tail-end of each conference, the eight-seeds have very little room for error, as there are playoff hopefuls fighting for a chance to extend their seasons.
In the mix of franchises there is a collection of young talent that will have their chances to fight for the playoffs another season, veterans who may not have many more chances and teams that are just trying to right the ship after a roller coaster season.
There are five teams, two in the Eastern Conference and three in the Western Conference, that can taste that eighth spot in the playoffs. They not only need to do their part and win, but they are going to need a little help from some of the teams around the league to help bump off the current playoff-bound teams.
Utah Jazz
1 of 5
The Utah Jazz are currently the 11th seed in the West with a record of 36-34.
It has been a rough season for the Jazz. For starters, they lost Carlos Boozer, their all-star caliber forward, in the offseason. Then, as a surprise to many, Jerry Sloan resigned midseason, leaving the coaching duties to Tyrone Corbin. And to make matters worse, they traded away their franchise player, Deron Williams, to the New Jersey Nets.
The Jazz received some good, young talent in the Deron Williams deal. Derrick Favors can hopefully provide solid assistance to Paul Millsap at the forward spot, and possibly a future all-star.
The Jazz are currently three games behind the Memphis Grizzlies after their March 21 loss.
The Jazz have a tough schedule ahead of them with two games against the New Orleans Hornets, one against the Oklahoma City Thunder, two against the Los Angeles Lakers, one against the Denver Nuggets, one against the San Antonio Spurs, one against the Portland Trailblazer and one against the Dallas Mavericks.
They also have two more favorable matchups during the stretch: one game against the Washington Wizards and the other against the Sacramento Kings
Phoenix Suns
2 of 5
The Phoenix Suns are currently 10th in the Western Conference with an overall record of 35-33.
Phoenix was very active this season with rearranging their roster. They swapped Goran Dragic for Aaron Brooks, and earlier in the season, acquired Vince Carter and Marcin Gortat from the Orlando Magic in a deal which also included Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark.
The Suns are currently 2.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth playoff spot in the West.
Phoenix will have a tough time catching up to the Grizzlies because of a handful of tough games until the end of the season. Some of those tough matchups include games against the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls.
Charlotte Bobcats
3 of 5
The Charlotte Bobcats are another team that went through some changes to the roster and coaching staff this season. Larry Brown was replaced with Paul Silas, and Gerald Wallace, the long-time franchise player, was traded away to Portland.
The Bobcats are currently tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 28-41.
The Bobcats have two pivotal games within the next week: one against the eighth-seeded Indiana Pacers, and the other against the Bucks.
The Bobcats do not have an impossible road to returning to the playoffs, but games against the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and two against the Orlando Magic, could prevent them from capturing the eight seed.
Milwaukee Bucks
4 of 5
The Milwaukee Bucks are stuck in the same place as the Bobcats, tied for the ninth seed with a 28-41 record.
The Bucks have a few tough games against the Heat, Thunder and Bulls, but the rest of the games are manageable. Their season finale, if they're lucky, might not include Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant if Thunder coach Scott Brooks decides to rest his superstars before the playoffs.
The Pacers' schedule doesn't give the Bucks the best chance in the world, but the Pacers do have a couple tough games against the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and New Orleans Hornets.
Keep an eye out for the April 1 matchup between the Bucks and Pacers as it could be a game where they can swap spots depending on the outcome.
Houston Rockets
5 of 5
The Houston Rockets, ninth in the Western Conference, are currently two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies with an overall record of 39-32.
The Rockets, winners of six of their last eight, have a few tough games ahead of them, but might be able to find a way to replace the Grizzlies in the playoffs.
Kyle Lowry has played great for them after taking over the starting roll. Lowry is averaging 13.2 ppg and 6.5 apg on the season, but most impressively, has a +16.60 efficiency rating.
The Rockets have games against the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks, which make it far from an easy road.
However, they have more manageable games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Grizzlies do not have the easiest road to defending the eighth-seed with games against the Portland Trailblazers, New Orleans Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs. And let's not forget, Rudy Gay is still not back healthy.
