Curtain on the regular season in a historically dense Western conference: 11 teams out of 15 finished with a record of 50% or more. This is unheard of in NBA history! The last day essentially made one happy, Phoenix, who snatched 6th place. Winners in Minnesota, the Suns benefit from the defeat of the Pelicans, largely beaten by the Lakers. Coincidentally, the Wolves will face the Suns in the first round, and the Pelicans will again host the Lakers during the play-in.
The winner of this play-off will face the Nuggets, since the reigning champions finished 2nd after their victory against the Grizzlies. For the Warriors, 10th in the West, they will have to win two away play-offs to hope to challenge the Thunder in the first round…
PLAYOFFS
OKC (1) – winner of the 3rd play-in game
Denver (2) – the winner of New Orleans – LA Lakers
Minnesota (3) – Phoenix (6)
LA Clippers (4) – Dallas (5)
PLAY-IN
Tuesday April 16 : New Orleans (7) – LA Lakers (8) // Sacramento (9) – Golden State (10)
Friday April 19 : New Orleans or LA Lakers – Sacramento or Golden State at 3:30 a.m. or 4:00 a.m.