PHOENIX SUNS
NBA play-in picture: Suns down to 5 potential 1st-round playoff opponents
Tuesday marked a big day in the Western Conference playoff race, and for the Phoenix Suns, it wasn’t just about knocking the Los Angeles Lakers out of postseason contention.
The four-team play-in tournament for the 7-10 seeds is nearly set.
The Denver Nuggets are one win or one Minnesota Timberwolves loss from securing a playoff berth and avoiding the play-in. Each team has two games left.
As long as the Nuggets don’t lose out and the T-Wolves don’t also win out, the Suns will play one of four teams in the first round of the playoffs: The Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans or San Antonio Spurs.
At present, the standings for play-in eligible teams look like so:
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST 10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
6 Denver Nuggets
|
47 | 33 | .588 | 16.5 | 28-22 | 6-10 | 22-17 | 25-16 | 3-1 | 5-5 | L 1 |
|
7 Minnesota Timberwolves
|
45 | 35 | .563 | 18.5 | 31-20 | 12-4 | 25-14 | 20-21 | 2-1 | 5-5 | L 1 |
|
8 LA Clippers
|
39 | 40 | .494 | 24 | 23-26 | 7-7 | 22-16 | 17-24 | 0-4 | 4-6 | W 2 |
|
9 New Orleans Pelicans
|
35 | 44 | .443 | 28 | 24-25 | 6-9 | 18-21 | 17-23 | 1-2 | 7-3 | W 1 |
|
10 San Antonio Spurs
|
34 | 45 | .430 | 29 | 24-25 | 6-9 | 16-24 | 18-21 | 1-3 | 8-2 | W 3 |
If Denver secures a playoff berth, the Los Angeles Clippers, who are locked in as the eighth-place team, would play the Timberwolves with the winner going on to face the second-place Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.
The loser of a T-Wolves-Nuggets play-in game would face the winner of the 9-10 play-in game for rights to face the Suns.
The New Orleans Pelicans (35-44) and San Antonio Spurs (34-45) are locked into those 9-10 spots, but homecourt for their play-in matchup is still to-be-determined.
How did all this get hammered out on Tuesday?
Phoenix’s franchise-record 63rd win followed San Antonio’s victory against Denver earlier in the night, and that combination of results locked the latter team into a play-in berth. The Pelicans beating the Sacramento Kings also assured them a spot in the play-in tournament.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz dropped the Memphis Grizzlies, which secured them a playoff berth to avoid the play-in.
