The Western Shuffle
All 16 NBA playoff teams are now set. But the seeding order which determines who plays who still has a lot of unknowns.
The Western Conference in particular could still see a lot of shuffling of positions even though there are only three games left in the regular season. Out of eight seeds, only the number one seed has been locked up. That seed belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers. They are 10 games ahead of the second ranked team with only three games left.
But that second ranked team after Friday night’s games, the Denver Nuggets, only has a one game lead over Houston and a two game lead over Portland and San Antanio. So between today and Wednesday, when the regular season ends, there still could be some serious shuffling of positions two through five.
Maybe the most important unknown is who will finish in the eighth seed in the West and have to face the Lakers in the first round. That could end up being Utah, Dallas or New Orleans.
Despite 42 points Friday night from Chris Paul, New Orleans lost to Dallas, 100-92. That left New Orleans and Dallas both with 48-31 records. Utah is at 47-32. Any one of those three teams could end up in the eighth seed and have to face the Lakers.
The Hornets will have another chance against Dallas Sunday. That game will be in New Orleans and it will be on national TV (ABC). The second ABC game Sunday is also worth noting. That game is Boston vs. Cleveland, the one and two seeds in the East.
LeBron James and the Cavaliers have locked up the number one seed in the East. But the Celtics only lead Orlando by two games with three to play.
Who will have to play the number one seed Cavs in the first round? Detroit and Chicago are tied for the last seed as of today with 39 wins. Philadelphia has 40 wins and Miami 41.
It is unlikely that D Wade and the Heat would fall to number eight but any of the other three could end up in there. The Cavs dominated all three in the regular season. They had 3-1 records against the Pistons and the Bulls and a 3-0 record against the 76ers.
A Detroit-Cleveland first round might be good. I don’t think either team is too fond of the other.
.
