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There were six games in the NBA last night, and honestly -- surprisingly --there was an actual change that matters in the NBA Playoffs seeding; furthermore, it trickled all the way down to change up the NBA Draft lotto order too!
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What happened last night?
| Winner | Loser | Commentary | ||||||||||
| 1 | MIA | East | 10 | 105 | - | CHA | East | 11 | 100 | Goran Dragic ignites for 28 / 4 / 5 | ||
| 2 | ATL | East | 1 | 96 | - | PHX | West | 10 | 69 | And Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris beat up a guy who was texting their mom | ||
| 3 | SAS | West | 6 | 113 | - | OKC | West | 8 | 88 | Kawhi Leonard actually looking like more than a 5th fiddle | ||
| 4 | NOP | West | 9 | 103 | - | GSW | West | 1 | 100 | Team with something to play for wins game! | ||
| 5 | SAC | West | 13 | 116 | - | MIN | West | 15 | 111 | The most boring game that's historically relevant | ||
| 6 | LAC | West | 5 | 105 | - | LAL | West | 14 | 100 | Tarik Black misses the double double by 1 reb. | ||
We have to start with the beatdown the Spurs put on the Thunder.
Spurs dominating the Thunder like... https://t.co/c8FqnZZyKA
— Hooped Up (@hoopedup) April 8, 2015
Beyond that, everyone else went according to plan except for the Pelicans who took advantage of events and beat the Warriors! A huge game for them that now puts them in the Western Conference playoffs!
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NBA Draft Lottery standings:
Okay, so MIA and IND switches spots, ho-hum. The big news is that OKC got dethrones by NOP. If you add this to all the other mess that's happening, I had to update the future picks thingy on the bottom. Dallas clinched a playoff spot, so #2 is no longer a possibility. And Memphis clinched a long time ago, so I don't know why I didn't eliminate #8 sooner. For Jazz fans the #13 thing is very slim still, but really unlikely. Just a recap, we want #13 to happen this season. But it probably will not.
But all the teams with an actual CHANCE to win the lotto didn't do anything to disrupt their odds last night. Tankers gotta tank.
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Western Conference standings:
| Team | W | L | % | GB | GL | Streak | Last Night | Tonight | |||||||||||
| 1 | Warriors | z | 63 | - | 15 | 80.77% | 0.0 | 4 | -2 | @ | NOP | L | |||||||
| 2 | Rockets | x | 53 | - | 24 | 68.83% | 9.5 | 5 | 3 | @ | SAS | ||||||||
| 3 | Grizzlies | x | 52 | - | 25 | 67.53% | 10.5 | 5 | -1 | vs | NOP | ||||||||
| 4 | Trail Blazers | y | 50 | - | 27 | 64.94% | 12.5 | 5 | -1 | vs | MIN | ||||||||
| 5 | Clippers | x | 53 | - | 26 | 67.09% | 10.5 | 3 | 4 | vs | LAL | W | |||||||
| 6 | Spurs | x | 52 | - | 26 | 66.67% | 11.0 | 4 | 8 | @ | OKC | W | vs | HOU | |||||
| 7 | Mavericks | x | 46 | - | 31 | 59.74% | 16.5 | 5 | -2 | vs | PHX | ||||||||
| 8 | Pelicans | 42 | - | 35 | 54.55% | 20.5 | 5 | 1 | vs | GSW | W | @ | MEM | ||||||
| 9 | Thunder | 42 | - | 36 | 53.85% | 21.0 | 4 | -4 | vs | SAS | L | ||||||||
| 10 | Suns | 39 | - | 39 | 50.00% | 24.0 | 4 | -1 | @ | ATL | L | @ | DAL | ||||||
| 11 | Jazz | 35 | - | 42 | 45.45% | 27.5 | 5 | 1 | @ | SAC | |||||||||
| 12 | Nuggets | 28 | - | 49 | 36.36% | 34.5 | 5 | -4 | vs | LAL | |||||||||
| 13 | Kings | 27 | - | 50 | 35.06% | 35.5 | 5 | 1 | vs | MIN | W | @ | UTA | ||||||
| 14 | Lakers | 20 | - | 57 | 25.97% | 42.5 | 5 | -4 | @ | LAC | L | @ | DEN | ||||||
| 15 | Timberwolves | 16 | - | 61 | 20.78% | 46.5 | 5 | -7 | @ | SAC | L | @ | POR | ||||||
| z - Clinched Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| y - Clinched Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| x - Clinched Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
So NOP is in, and OKC is out. Almost every team plays tonight (there are 4.6 games left on average), but you definitely see some groupings. The Lakers and Wolves are too far to be caught by anyone. The Nuggets could catch the Kings, but I don't think the Kings let that happen. And then you have the Jazz slightly behind the Suns, but that's also a game where Utah won't pass Phoenix.
Up top you have the Warriors where no one can catch them, and at #7, Dallas is too far from #6, and too ahead of #8/9 that they are also on an island.
Everything else is Lord of the Flies.
NOP and OKC are 0.5 games apart, and every game is a big deal. The Thunder have now lost 4 straight games, and what used to be a given is now something we don't even think is going to happen anymore.
And everything from #2 to #6 is left to be sorted out, 3.0 games separate these five clubs. Portland will get Top 4 (but not homecourt) because of their division status. But every team is fighting for every game at this point still.
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Tonight's Games:
| Road | Home | Commentary | ||||||
| 1 | TOR | East | 4 | @ | CHA | East | 11 | Must win for the Raptors |
| 2 | BOS | East | 8 | @ | DET | East | 12 | Can Celtics hold off the rest of the East? |
| 3 | CHI | East | 3 | @ | ORL | East | 13 | Derrick Rose will play tonight! |
| 4 | WAS | East | 5 | @ | PHI | East | 14 | 76ers are motivated to lose at all costs! |
| 5 | ATL | East | 1 | @ | BKN | East | 7 | No Paul Millsap tonight. |
| 6 | IND | East | 10 | @ | NYK | East | 15 | Reggie Miller vs. Spike Lee, right? |
| 7 | NOP | West | 8 | @ | MEM | West | 3 | Can Pelicans stay in the West playoffs? |
| 8 | CLE | East | 2 | @ | MIL | East | 6 | Trivia: Two teams Mo Williams has played for |
| 9 | HOU | West | 2 | @ | SAS | West | 6 | Can anyone stop the Spurs? |
| 10 | LAL | West | 14 | @ | DEN | West | 12 | Love how the Lakers have all these B2B games when Kobe Bryant is out |
| 11 | SAC | West | 13 | @ | UTA | West | 11 | Will Sim Bhullar add to his NBA career 0:16 seconds? |
| 12 | PHX | West | 10 | @ | DAL | West | 7 | Remember when these two teams used to be a thing? |
| 13 | MIN | West | 15 | @ | POR | West | 4 | Kevin Martin is taking names right now! Watch out! |
THIRTEEN GAMES! That's 26/30 NBA teams playing all in one night. It's pretty exciting for those of us with NBA League Pass. There are a couple of good games out East, but I really am excited to see what happens between the Spurs and Rockets. That's a pretty big game. Also the Pelicans and Grizzlies -- NOP controls their playoff destiny. And in order to make it they're going to have to beat some playoff teams to do so.
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Lots left to be determined in both the Lotto and the Playoff Seeds. As the NBA regular season comes to a close, I honestly have to say I'm watching more and more games than I did back during January. NBA action is still fantastic.