Good Morning It’s Basketball - The three seed problem
Good morning. It’s the last day of the regular season! Birds in a Lotus Pond; Bada Shanren; 1690 Let’s basketball. Vic Wembanyama Made ItAs of Friday, Denver controlled its own destiny for the West No. 1 seed with the Spurs and Grizzlies — two of the worst West teams — left to play. And the Nuggets — who won the championship last season and are favorites to come out of the West — led by 23. And then Victor Wembanyama scored 17 points in three minutes to start to bring San Antonio back … … and Devonte’ Graham eventually finished the job. An incredible result. When everyone says that these teams better hang these banners while they can, they mean it. We mean it. The Thunder rocked the Bucks without Giannis or Dame, and the Wolves edged the Hawks in Karl-Anthony Towns’ return (11 points, 4/11 shooting, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, -4 in 28 minutes). Those results left us with a THREE-WAY TIE atop the Western Conference. Unprecedented with one game to go. Here’s how this knot unravels.
In related news, the Nuggets listed half their roster — including all the important players — as questionable, so they may just assume the other teams are winning and take an extra day off. Which would rob us the chance of G.G. Jackson having a chance to make his imprint on the Three Seed Problem. Alas. Ante UpBecause they lost badly on Friday, the Bucks need to win on the final day of the regular season to clinch No. 2. That’s bad news for their opponent, the Orlando Magic, because a loss from them combined with a Pacers win drops O-Town to the play-in, which is a nightmare to wrap up a dream season. The Knicks barely beat the Nets on Friday, but that kept them alive for No. 2. They get it if they beat the Bulls and the Bucks lose. If both teams wins, New York is No. 3. If they lose and the Bucks and Cavaliers win, New York is No. 4. Maybe an attractive proposal. Cleveland got a huge win over Indiana on Friday behind a huge Donovan Mitchell game. Timely. That keeps Cleveland alive for the top three. Except it sounds like Donovan Mitchell and maybe Darius Garland will sit on Sunday, which is a clue that the Cavaliers might want to slip down to the 4-5 series instead of facing the Sixers (as a 3 seed) or the Heat (as a 2 seed). But the opponent is the Hornets, so it might take more intent than that to lose. No offense to Brandon Miller or Grant Williams. The rest of the East is basically incomprehensible after the Magic and Pacers lost on Friday and the Sixers and Heat won. Joel Embiid appeared to injure his knee at the end of the first half … and then was a +12 in 15 minutes in the second half against Orlando. How do Philly fans manage to ever breathe? All four teams — Orlando, Indiana, Philadelphia and Miami — can end up anywhere between No. 5 and No. 8 based on results. Only the Magic and Pacers can win themselves into a top-6 seed. Philly needs to win and one of those teams (Magic or Pacers) to lose to get in the top six. Miami needs to win and both of the Magic and Pacers to lose to get in the top six. Like ThatThe Warriors had a good shot at improving their chances … but the non-Steph Dubs shot 6/21 from deep. Meanwhile, Zion and McCollum continued their run to keep control of the No. 6 seed. They’ll get it with a win over the Lakers or a Phoenix loss to the Wolves. That the Suns are in position to finish No. 6 at all is a miracle made possible in part by KANGZ. Sacramento led basically the whole game … and crumbled down the stretch. Kings are 1-6 in their last couple of weeks. They don’t even control their own destiny for the top half of the play-in now. Falling into the play-in after being the No. 3 seed last year wouldn’t have been a disaster. One-and-done in the play-in? That’s a disaster. The Kings need to win and need the Pels to beat L.A. to get No. 8. Otherwise it’s No. 9 or, if the Kings lose to Portland and the Warriors beat the Jazz, No. 10. The Lakers just narrowly took care of business on Friday. LeBron is eternal. The Warriors get No. 8 only if they win and the Kings and Lakers both lose. The Lakers get No. 8 with a win over the Pelicans, or losses by the Kings and Warriors. If the Lakers lose, Kings win and Warriors win, L.A. will still be No. 9 over Golden State. Updated Schedule1 PM EASTERN 3:30 PM EASTERN Basketball! Be excellent to each other. You're currently a free subscriber to Good Morning It's Basketball. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
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The NBA's night of chaos
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Orlando is tumbling from the Race for No. 2 to the Race for No. 6 (joining Cleveland on the way down). Giannis is hurt. The Suns are mystifying. The West No. 1 race is hotter than ever. Holy smokes. ͏
Tanks for everything
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Losing on purpose works in the NBA. The 2022-23 Mavericks prove it. The 2021 and 2022 Thunder really prove it. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The NBA playoff picture is a total mess with 1 week left
Monday, April 8, 2024
The field of 20 teams is set in stone. But only a single seed is locked in. What a week we have ahead of us. First, let's recap the weekend. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Joel Embiid is back. Are the Sixers?
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
The Big Fella plays 30 crucial minutes in a huge win. Thank goodness there are a couple of weeks before the playoffs. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Everything important that happened in the NBA this weekend
Monday, April 1, 2024
And also another sick Collin Sexton highlight. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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