Thanks to the Minnesota Timberwolves, we still have no idea what the Western Conference playoffs are going to look like, with only two games left for every team involved.
Behind 44 points from Anthony Edwards, the T-wolves blew out the Memphis Grizzlies 141-125 on Thursday to move into a tie for sixth place in the West. There are now six teams — Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors — within two games of each other in the standings.
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Each team will play two more times, on Friday and Sunday, with possible outcomes ranging from hosting a playoff series to the play-in tournament.
The Timberwolves entered Thursday needing a win, otherwise they would have been left on the brink of a play-in spot. After a close first half, Edwards obliged, leading his team on a 29-7 run to open the third quarter.
Notably, the Grizzlies were playing without rookie Jaylen Wells, their standout rookie who would have likely drawn the defensive assignment against Edwards. Wells is out indefinitely after breaking his wrist in a scary fall on Tuesday.
Edwards got his 44 points on 13-of-19 shooting, while Julius Randle contributed 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Ja Morant had 36 points and six assists for the Grizzlies.
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Memphis is now 3-4 since firing head coach Taylor Jenkins, the shock of the NBA season until the Denver Nuggets parted ways with Michael Malone on Tuesday.
Thursday’s result leaves the Western Conference playoffs with plenty to figure out this weekend. We know the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets will be taking the top two seeds. We know the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks will be playing each other in the lower play-in game.
After that, well …
Western Conference standings after April 10
1. Oklahoma City Thunder, 66-14
2. Houston Rockets, 52-28 (14 games back)
3. Los Angeles Lakers, 49-31 (17 GB)
4. Denver Nuggets, 48-32 (18 GB)
5. Los Angeles Clippers, 48-32 (18 GB)
6. Golden State Warriors, 47-33 (19 GB)
7. Memphis Grizzlies, 47-33 (19 GB)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves, 47-33 (19 GB)
9. Sacramento Kings, 39-41 (27 GB)
10. Dallas Mavericks, 38-42 (28 GB)
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You know the scene in “Glengarry Glen Ross” where Alec Baldwin tells the salesmen that first place gets a Cadillac El Dorado, second place gets a set of steak knives, and third place gets fired? We’re basically there for the six West teams with something to play for. The top two teams get to host a playoff series. The middle two teams at least make the first round. And the bottom two teams will be playing each other to decide if they visit Thunder, Rockets or no one.
And those six teams are the ones with LeBron James, Nikola Jokić, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, Morant and Edwards, with the Lakers the only team assured of a playoff spot. The NBA couldn’t ask for a better set-up to its final weekend.
With six possible teams, the tie-breaking scenarios are too complex to break down in a prompt manner. The most important part for every team is to just win, and with their remaining schedules, that will be harder for some teams than others:
Lakers: Rockets, @ Blazers
Nuggets: Grizzlies, @ Rockets
Clippers: @ Kings, @ Warriors
Grizzlies: @ Nuggets, Mavericks
Warriors: @ Blazers, Clippers
Timberwolves: Nets, Jazz
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As you can see, the Timberwolves are on the bottom right now, but are the only squad playing two lottery teams to finish out the season. The Nuggets, Grizzlies and Clippers all have two games against teams who will at least make the play-in, with the Clippers’ finale against the Warriors looming as a must-watch between two teams who have been on fire over the past month.