The Wizards could finish sixth in the East, the Spurs and Thunder could make the West's first round a gauntlet even for the top teams and other standings observations as we approach the last quarter of the season.
There were some unpredictable results in the NBA on Wednesday. The Timberwolves blew out the Wizards, the Hornets beat the Bulls and the Kings prevailed over the Grizzlies. All games that have implications to the standings. Let's take a closer look now that we are approaching the last quarter of of the season.
The Wizards are sinking fast
The Wizards started the season well, taking advantage of an easy schedule to surge to third in the East as the calendar turned to 2015. Since then, they have gone just 11-16, dropping fast in the standings. They're only half a game ahead of the sixth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and three games below the fourth-place Chicago Bulls. There is a real chance the Wizards not only go into the playoffs without homecourt advantage, but also finish below the top five. That could mean a first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who has beaten them by a combined 64 points in their last two games.
Injuries to Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce were definitely a factor in the 20-point loss to the Timberwolves, but there are season-long trends in the way Randy Wittman uses his roster that are concerning and don't seem to be going away. Instead of slotting Pierce at power forward at times to open up the floor, Wittman insists on going with Kris Humphries and Kevin Seraphin as his backup bigsmen. The Wizards take the third most shots from 16 to 24 feet, only below the backwards-thinking Lakers and Knicks. That style of play just isn't conducive to winning in today's NBA.
There's enough individual talent in the roster for Washington to bounce back and at least finish fifth, which would mean a rematch against a Bulls team they beat in last year's playoffs. That being the best case scenario for Washington would have seemed far-fetched earlier in the season, but things are looking bleak for the Wizards right now.
The East's No. 8 spot is wide open
The Brooklyn Nets lost to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday while the Charlotte Hornets beat the Bulls, so the two teams are now tied for eight place in the East with 23-32 records. Below them, three teams -- the Pistons, Pacers and Celtics -- are just one game back. The Hornets and Nets will play their direct opponent eight times, the Celtics seven times and the Pacers and Pistons six times each. It's impossible to know who will prevail.
These teams will be better than they seemed earlier in the season. The Celtics traded for Isaiah Thomas, the Pistons nabbed Reggie Jackson and the Nets got Thaddeus Young. The Pacers may get Paul George back for the stretch run and Charlotte will soon welcome Kemba Walker to the fold. Those five franchises are likely fighting for a chance at being swept by the Hawks, but at least the bottom of the East offers some excitement for the first time in a long while.
The Spurs and Thunder will be tough outs
The Thunder and the Spurs are on different paths right now. After being out of the playoffs for most of the season due to injuries to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, the Thunder are now firmly planted at eight place, two games up on the Pelicans. The Spurs, currently sitting two and a half games back from the sixth seed, are on a four-game losing streak that has made it hard for them to climb up the standings. Barring a huge streak or one of the teams above them collapsing, the Thunder and Spurs will finish with the two last playoffs spots in the West.
Imagine you are the Warriors or Grizzlies. You were amazing all season long and secured the top two seeds, only to draw two teams that have traditionally given you trouble. The Spurs beat the Warriors in the 2012-13 playoffs by containing Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and had a long undefeated streak against the Grizzlies following an upset in the 2010-11 playoffs. The Thunder match up well with the Warriors, recently scored 127 on the league's best defense and finally have a bench after the trade deadline. They also eliminated the Grizzlies in the first round last season.
If the playoffs started today, these are the matchups:
- Warriors vs. Thunder
- Grizzlies vs. Spurs
- Rockets vs. Clippers
- Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks.
We'll take that.
The race to the bottom is heating up
At the bottom of the standings, the concern is not about wins, but losses. For all the attention Sam Hinkie and the 76ers are getting, the Knicks are right now the worst team in the league, logging two fewer wins and one more loss. Trotting out a starting lineup of Jose Calderon, Langston Galloway, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jason Smith and Lou Amundson shows the Knicks are making sure they secure that worst record.
The Lakers and Timberwolves -- the two teams directly above the Knicks and 76ers in the standings -- won on Wednesday, which makes their chances of "catching" Philadelphia for the second-best odds of landing the first overall pick a little harder. The Kings also won, so it'll take a tanktastic effort for them to usurp the Magic as the team with the fifth-worst record.
But don't count out Denver for that spot. The Nuggets are on a four-game losing streak, traded Arron Afflalo and have won only two of their last 19 games.
EAST STANDINGS
| TEAM | W | L | GB |
| Atlanta Hawks | 45 | 12 | - |
| Toronto Raptors | 37 | 20 | 8 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 36 | 22 | 9.5 |
| Chicago Bulls | 36 | 22 | 9.5 |
| Washington Wizards | 33 | 25 | 12.5 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 32 | 25 | 13 |
| Miami Heat | 25 | 31 | 19.5 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 23 | 32 | 21 |
| GB (8) | |||
| Charlotte Hornets | 23 | 32 | 0 |
| Detroit Pistons | 23 | 34 | 1 |
| Indiana Pacers | 23 | 34 | 1 |
| Boston Celtics | 22 | 33 | 1 |
| Orlando Magic | 19 | 40 | 6 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 12 | 45 | 12 |
| New York Knicks | 10 | 46 | 13.5 |
WEST STANDINGS
| TEAM | W | L | GB |
| Golden State Warriors | 44 | 10 | - |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 41 | 15 | 4 |
| Houston Rockets | 39 | 18 | 6.5 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 37 | 19 | 8 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 39 | 21 | 8 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 37 | 21 | 9 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 34 | 23 | 11.5 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 32 | 25 | 13.5 |
| GB (8) | |||
| New Orleans Pelicans | 30 | 27 | 2 |
| Phoenix Suns | 30 | 28 | 2.5 |
| Utah Jazz | 21 | 35 | 10.5 |
| Sacramento Kings | 20 | 35 | 11 |
| Denver Nuggets | 20 | 37 | 12 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 15 | 41 | 16.5 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 13 | 43 | 18.5 |
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1vCvOxS
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