Western Conference: update on the race for the 2023 playoffs

There are only three weeks and ten games left before the end of the regular season. In the East as in the West, each match will therefore be worth its weight in gold for the different teams that have not validated their ticket for the playoffs or distanced their pursuers in the standings.

In the West, we only know of one qualified for the moment: denver (49-24). Three and a half games ahead of Memphis (45-27), we can also expect the Nuggets to finish at the top of this conference.

It remains to be seen whether the Grizzlies will be their dolphins, while Sacramento (43-29) has not said its last word in the race for the Top 2 of the conference.

Only three games difference between the 4th and the 12th…

Behind, a significant gap is widening with fourth place, currently occupied by phoenix (38-34). It must be said that a bunch of teams can still dream of home advantage in the first round, since there are only three small games difference between… the 4th and the 12th!

No less than eight teams could take advantage of the Suns’ difficult schedule to join the Top 4. Starting with the Clippers (38-35) and Golden State (38-36), initially announced as title contenders, but struggling since the start of the season. Their calendars are however far from simple and Los Angeles like the Warriors could perfectly end up outside the Top 10, in the event of a total crack…

What could do the business of Minnesota (37-37) or Oklahoma City (36-36), just in balance and which close the Top 8 for the moment. A surprise team for this exercise, the Thunder also have a good chance to play, because the calendar that is looming for OKC is considered as one of the easiest. As for the Wolves, they will count on the return of Karl-Anthony Towns to launch a decisive “run” in the home straight.

It will take that to resist the pressure of dallas (36-37) and Lakers (36-37), weighed down by the sores of their stars, but they too benefit from a calendar within their reach, which should allow them to avoid the play-in. Quite the opposite of Utah (35-37) and New Orleans (35-37), who will chain complex meetings in the coming days, when they are already outside the Top 10.

Should we expect huge surprises?

We can see it, in this hell that is the Western Conference, the 7th (Minnesota) has the same number of defeats as the 12th (New Orleans), itself two small games behind the 6th (Golden State) and, by consequently, from the qualification direct for the playoffs! Proof that the situation is crazy: even the defending champions remain under the threat of premature elimination…

Very clever and visionary the one who will therefore succeed in predicting the exact order of the classification on the evening of April 9, the date on which the end of the regular season is fixed. However, we can imagine that the game of musical chairs will continue even more until then and that some surprises could well be created soon.

A scenario where Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James would miss every four the playoffs is not impossible, while Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are not safe in Texas either…

United States estimates

Calendar Difficulty (according to Tankathon)