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The West is always a conference that has a wild finish. Right now the #4 seed has 26 wins, and the #12 seed has 21 wins. And these teams each have at least 20 games to play still. It's not impossible to have the 66 game season end with some of these teams very far from the current seed they are slotted in right now. I hope this will be a handy guide to what's happening between these teams.
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The Teams:
The Clippers are a Top 4 team, but some worry about their ability to finish this season. I don't know. We'll see. Memphis is always strong. Dallas knows how to get the job done. I never want to count Houston out, they always overachieve. Phoenix is on fire right now. Utah is coming together at the right time. Minny is rudderless without Rubio, and Portland blew it all up.
| West | Games Remaining | ||||||||
| Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Rank | Total | Home | vs. West | vs. Top 10 | vs. Jazz |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 26 | 18 | 59.1% | 4 | 22 | 10 | 19 | 7 | 1 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 25 | 18 | 58.1% | 5 | 23 | 10 | 18 | 7 | 1 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 26 | 20 | 56.5% | 6 | 20 | 8 | 16 | 9 | 1 |
| Denver Nuggets | 25 | 20 | 55.6% | 7 | 21 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 1 |
| Houston Rockets | 24 | 22 | 52.2% | 8 | 20 | 11 | 17 | 6 | 1 |
| Phoenix Suns | 23 | 22 | 51.1% | 9 | 21 | 8 | 17 | 11 | 2 |
| Utah Jazz | 23 | 22 | 51.1% | 10 | 21 | 10 | 17 | 6 | -- |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 24 | 47.8% | 11 | 20 | 9 | 16 | 7 | 0 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 24 | 46.7% | 12 | 21 | 12 | 18 | 6 | 3 |
Denver has the least amount of home games left. The Clippers have the most games left against the Western Conference. The Suns have the most games remaining left to play the current Top 10 Teams in the NBA (Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Grizzlies).
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Head to Head Meetings:
| LAC | MEM | DAL | DEN | HOU | PHX | UTA | MIN | POR | |
| LAC | -- | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MEM | 2 | -- | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| DAL | 1 | 2 | -- | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| DEN | 1 | 0 | 1 | -- | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| HOU | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -- | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| PHX | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -- | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| UTA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | 0 | 3 |
| MIN | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -- | 1 |
| POR | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -- |
If you want some easier games it's good to have a number of games against the teams here who are "tanking". Those teams appear to be the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers. Memphis plays these two teams 3 more times. Denver plays these two teams 3 more times. Utah plays these two teams 3 more times too. On the other hand, some teams only have 1 more game against these teams, like Houston. Maybe having an extra game, or one less game, against the tanking teams will make a difference? Maybe not. What do you think?
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After the jump ... the Games, and some predictions
The Games:
|
Games |
LAC |
MEM |
DAL |
DEN |
HOU |
PHX |
UTA |
MIN |
POR |
|
44 |
|
@ SAC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
45 |
@ IND |
@ POR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
46 |
@ OKC |
@ LAC |
|
vs. DAL |
|
@ MIA |
vs. OKC |
|
vs. MIL |
|
47 |
@ NOR |
@ LAL |
@ DEN |
vs. DET |
vs. LAL |
@ ORL |
@ SAC |
@ GSW |
vs. MEM |
|
48 |
vs. MEM |
vs. MIN |
vs. LAL |
@ UTA |
vs. GSW |
@ IND |
vs. DEN |
@ SAS |
@ LAL |
|
49 |
vs. NOR |
@ HOU |
@ SAS |
@ MIN |
vs. DAL |
@ CLE |
@ ATL |
@ OKC |
vs. GSW |
|
50 |
vs. PHX |
@ MIL |
@ HOU |
@ CHI |
vs. SAC |
vs. SAS |
@ NJN |
vs. DEN |
vs. OKC |
|
51 |
vs. POR |
@ OKC |
vs. HOU |
@ TOR |
@ DAL |
@ LAC |
@ BOS |
@ MEM |
vs. NOR |
|
52 |
vs. UTA |
vs. GSW |
@ MIA |
@ CHA |
vs. MEM |
vs. NOR |
vs. SAC |
@ CHA |
@ LAC |
|
53 |
@ DAL |
@ DAL |
@ ORL |
@ ORL |
vs. IND |
@ SAC |
@ LAC |
vs. BOS |
vs. MIN |
|
54 |
vs. LAL |
@ MIA |
vs. LAC |
@ NOR |
@ CHI |
@ UTA |
@ POR |
@ POR |
vs. UTA |
|
55 |
@ SAC |
vs. DAL |
vs. MEM |
vs. PHX |
@ LAL |
@ DEN |
vs. PHX |
@ SAC |
vs. NJN |
|
56 |
vs. SAC |
vs. LAC |
vs. POR |
@ GSW |
@ SAC |
vs. LAL |
vs. GSW |
vs. GSW |
@ DAL |
|
57 |
@ MEM |
vs. PHX |
@ MEM |
vs. GSW |
@ POR |
@ MIN |
@ SAS |
@ NOR |
@ MIL |
|
58 |
@ OKC |
@ SAS |
vs. SAC |
vs. MIN |
vs. UTA |
@ MEM |
vs. SAS |
vs. PHX |
vs. HOU |
|
59 |
@ MIN |
vs. UTA |
@ GSW |
@ LAL |
vs. PHX |
@ HOU |
@ HOU |
@ DEN |
vs. GSW |
|
60 |
vs. GSW |
@ NOR |
@ POR |
vs. HOU |
@ DEN |
@ SAS |
@ NOR |
vs. LAC |
vs. DAL |
|
61 |
vs. OKC |
@ MIN |
@ LAL |
@ HOU |
vs. DEN |
vs. POR |
@ MEM |
vs. OKC |
@ SAC |
|
62 |
@ DEN |
vs. NOR |
@ UTA |
vs. LAC |
@ DAL |
vs. OKC |
vs. DAL |
@ IND |
@ PHX |
|
63 |
@ PHX |
@ CHA |
vs. HOU |
@ PHX |
@ NOR |
vs. LAC |
@ POR |
vs. MEM |
vs. UTA |
|
64 |
vs. NOR |
vs. POR |
vs. GSW |
vs. ORL |
vs. GSW |
vs. DEN |
vs. ORL |
@ DET |
@ MEM |
|
65 |
@ ATL |
vs. CLE |
@ CHI |
@ OKC |
@ MIA |
@ UTA |
vs. PHX |
vs. GSW |
@ SAS |
|
66 |
@ NYK |
vs. ORL |
@ ATL |
@ MIN |
vs. NOR |
vs. SAS |
vs. POR |
vs. DEN |
@ UTA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home |
10 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
11 |
8 |
10 |
9 |
12 |
|
vs. West |
19 |
18 |
16 |
15 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
16 |
18 |
|
vs. Top 10 |
7 |
7 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
11 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
|
vs. Jazz |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
-- |
0 |
3 |
Not looking at B2B games, and travel, some of these teams have easier paths than the other teams. Portland actually faces a gauntlet, it's good that they are tanking. Phoenix also has a really tough finish. Denver has a 7 game road trip still.
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Fearless Prediction:
Nothing will be decided until the last night of the season, again.