The NBA Season Ends Today, and Here’s What We Know

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We’ve reached the final day of the 82-game regular season, and there are STILL six teams in the Western Conference whose fates have yet to be fully decided — the Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Pelicans, and Thunder will all have their first-round playoff destinies revealed tonight.

Of course, the story we’ve been following lately is, “Can the Spurs really climb all the way to the 2 seed after such a tumultuous year?” The answer is, “yes,” and all they have to do is win tonight. It’s pretty wild when you take a look back.

It was Feb. 23, and San Antonio had just been smothered by the Jazz in Utah on the back end of the Rodeo Road Trip to fall to 34-22, eight games behind the second-seed Grizzlies and just three games ahead of the charging eighth seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder. There was a players-only meeting that night, a rarity during the Tim Duncan era. But that’s when things finally seemed to turn around.

The Spurs are a league-best 21-4 since then, outscoring opponents by a whopping 14.1 points per 100 possessions (also tops in the NBA). And now, they’re one win away from securing another division title and completing an improbable comeback to earn home court through the first two rounds of the playoffs. But it’s not going to be easy.

Tonight’s matchup with the Pelicans in New Orleans comes with stakes not typically built into season finales. Rarely do two teams have this much to play for on the last night of the season, but for the Spurs and Pelicans, there’s no time to rest.

Especially for New Orleans.

The kind of hilariously named Smoothie King Center might be a mad house, because for them, this is a Game 7. If the Pelicans win, they’re in the playoffs for the first time since drafting Anthony Davis. Should they lose, the Brow’s postseason debut will depend on the Thunder losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that may or may not be trying to lose in order to better its chances at the top overall pick.

So if you’ve been pining for the playoffs to just get here already, tonight should satiate your palate for the time being. That atmosphere is going to be nuts.

If you’re looking for the plain-and-simple version, the Spurs are the 2-seed if they win tonight, and the Pelicans are the 8-seed if they win. We covered what a loss means for New Orleans, but what about San Antonio? A loss would mean either the 3-, 5-, or 6-seed, and here’s how.

Note: As a result of their win last night, the Clippers will finish with no worse than the 3-seed. They will be the 2-seed if the Spurs and Rockets lose. Portland is locked in as the 4-seed.

San Antonio takes 3-seed: A Spurs loss and a Rockets loss. San Antonio takes 3-seed by virtue of head-to-head tiebreaker with Houston (if Grizzlies lose), or three-way tiebreak should Memphis win AND Rockets lose. Clippers would have a better record than Spurs, pushing them into the 2-seed.

San Antonio takes 5-seed: A Spurs loss, Grizzlies loss, and Rockets win. Houston finishes with the best record in the division in this scenario, with San Antonio and Memphis finishing a game back and two games back, respectively.

San Antonio takes 6-seed: If the Spurs lose and the Rockets and Grizzlies both win, San Antonio is the 6-seed. Memphis owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, and Houston would finish with the best record in the division.

So there ya go, folks. As usual, you’re just rooting for the Spurs to win. There are 14 games tonight, and seven of them have playoff implications (by my count). So kick back and enjoy, because things are about to get crazy.


  • Anwsr

    You didn’t figure the Clippers into the equation.

  • Jason

    Even if they get the second seed, Spurs will not have home court advantage if they meet the Clippers in the second round. Given that the Blazers, Mavs, Grizz and Rockets are all injury-hit, there’s not much difference facing any of those teams IMO. Third seed is just fine. Even fifth seed is not too bad since it comes with home court advantage against the Blazers.

  • Riotsmoke

    I know it sounds crazy, but is the #2 seed really worth it in this scenario? Yeah we’d have HCA, but we would open against Dallas who, for some crazy reason whatsoever, we always seem to bring out the best in despite them looking subpar for latter half of the season.
    Next we’d have either the Clippers or Rockets.. again two teams who are both beatable, but it’s gonna be an ugly series with either. The Clippers have quietly been playing some pretty solid basketball lately, and the Rockets, despite their injuries, still have enough firepower to do a lot of damage. I understand we just beat Houston twice (without Tiago in the middle) so that’s goes in our favor, but it’s still gonna be a battle.
    And finally you’d see the Dubs in the WCF’s (assuming we make it that far). Again a team that’s beatable, but given their confidence level at this point in the season, you have to admit that trying to take a game at Oracle is gonna be insanely tough. Yes we did win their once earlier this season, but in the grand scheme of things, that might as well have been last year.

    Instead, why not take the #5 seed? We’d have HCA opening round and you’d open against Portland whose hasn’t really been playing well for the last two weeks. They’ve been locked into the #4 spot for what seems like almost a month now, and with Matthews being lost for season, it’s essentially the same team we played last year (and crushed).
    Next you’d have the Dubs, but I feel a team-led NO could put up much more of a fight than the one-man-show that is OKC right now. Also, their confidence level wouldn’t be nearly as high as if they rolled through OKC/POR in the first two rounds. THIS would be the battle for the West (ultimately) with more than likely the Clippers waiting for us in the WCF’s.

    I know it all sounds kinda crazy, but to me the path of least resistance would be the #5 seed. We wouldn’t have HCA in either the 2nd round or WCF’s, but could have it in the Finals if we end up playing Cleveland. I’m sure I’ve missed a few holes in this somewhere and welcome comments on it, but it sounds like this might be the easier way to go. Also I know Memphis needs to lose to make any of this a reality, but given their injuries lately, there’s a strong possibility Indy is gonna win that game tonight.

  • Jimbo

    Interesting idea, but I expect the Spurs would beat the Mavs or Blazers in 4 or 5 games; this Mavs team has problems right now. I seriously doubt NO or OKC will win a game against GS. The Spurs will likely play GS and LAC beyond the first round in some order. Given all that, I would definitely prefer to have homecourt for 2 rounds.

  • Jimbo

    LAC are locked into either the 2 or 3 spot. It’s a shame, because (other than the Spurs, probably) they would be GS’s toughest matchup. I would have preferred to see GS-LAC in round two with the Spurs in the opposite bracket.

  • Andrew

    Actually we would. If we win, we have the same record as the Clippers, but since we have a division title and the Clips don’t, we get the tiebreaker.

  • mattman22

    I wouldnt want the “path of least resistance” I want the path that will keep us playing at a high level to be prepared for GSW in the WCF and for the Finals… I feel if we try to go through easier teams then that might be a set up for disaster when it came to a top team when it mattered. Yes Spurs are a veteran team but there isnt a switch you can turn on when you want to play at a high level. just ask Lebron and the Heat

  • mhpatterson

    I couldn’t agree more. I would say that we still want the 2 seed. The Mavs will be a tough first round challenge but that will be a GOOD thing for us and make us stronger heading into the 2nd round against the Clippers or Rockets. A cupcake against the Blazers and then lack of homecourt in 2nd round is not what we want.

  • mhpatterson

    Also The problem is that I think the Rockets and Grizz will win tonight and so I think it is really more likely a 2 seed vs a 6 seed we are looking at.

    Since the Spurs play at the same time as the Grizz we have no way of knowing if they will win or not, therefore we have to assume that they will win, and assume that if we lose we will be the 6 seed, which would be a nightmare. So we have to go all out and try to win.

    This reminds me of an LSAT word problem.

  • brunostrange

    Me too. Those two teams hate each other, which makes for a fun watch (I can’t stand LAC, personally).

  • Eric Schwartz

    I always want the Spurs to face the Mavs in the playoffs.

    I would like to see Mavs players awkwardly accepting consolation backrubs from Mark Cuban again, as they did at the end of game 7 last year.

  • srecko vukovich

    Not really matter who ever we play .Seriously …Spurs are going any how all the way .They will repeat.

  • Filemon

    My view: We’re really good. The team is rolling and knows how to win on the road. The toughest match is GSW and we are not going to have HCA either way, so play with the B team tonight. Rest starters, don’t risk silly injuries and hey, give NO a chance to be in PO. OKC has no business being there, is an insult against team basketball as SA practice it.

  • Ryan McShane

    In last year’s playoffs, Monta Ellis was -54 over seven games. DeJuan Blair was +20 over 6 games. No more DeJuan Blair => much easier for the Spurs. I’d say take the 2 seed if you can get it. I agree, though, that 5th seed is better than 3rd seed. Since a beat up Clippers/Grizz/Rockets team is much better for the Spurs than a rolling Warriors team in the WCF.

  • Ryan McShane

    The Grizz obviously want to win to get the 5th seed and get HCA against the Blazers, but the Pacers want to make the playoffs. And the Pacers aren’t that bad lately (and the Grizz are!). Season-long records here aren’t representative. Grizz are like 15-15 in their last 30. Pacers are 5-0 since George’s return and on a six-game winning streak. And Rockets might lose as the Jazz have been inexplicably trying to win lately. Even if the Jazz win, the Suns will be “seeded” higher than them due to their 2-1 head to head record. The Jazz have nothing to lose in the lottery.

  • Riotsmoke

    True, but at the same time, the “easier” teams you describe aren’t exactly pushovers. Don’t get me wrong, I agree that we need to keep playing at a high level, but I somewhat disagree with turning on the switch. This is a team that lead wire to wire at home against GS, and won a home and home against Hou in the past month or so, but before that we’re blowing leads on the road at NY and Utah? C’mon.. I think the reference to the Heat’s play last year speaks more about the disparity in competition between the two conferences over the past 4-5 years rather than any sort of switch. The EC has been absolutely dreadful with only 1-2 teams (at most) having any realistic chance of winning it, while the WC has been a brutal gauntlet for just about anyone in the playoffs.

    I’m just looking at it from the perspective of match-ups based on this year. If we really want to repeat then the onus should be on focusing on the end result, not exactly how we get there. If certain teams are better match-ups for us, then why not take those? This team has shown it knows how to tackle any obstacle. I just don’t see the point in having to make it any harder than it already has to be by going through these teams who we really don’t match up well against. (Also, I don’t wanna see Josh Smith shoot 26 free throws in a half again!) :)

  • DorieStreet

    5th seed Spurs still cold have HCA in WCF, if no. 7 prevails over 2 and 6 over 3.

  • DorieStreet

    Spurs don’t need to rest starters. They last played on Sunday. If rest was a priority, the Spurs would have started doing it last week (B2B game v. HOU). DAL was too far back at that point, so possible one or two losses in the last four games would not have jeopardized the 6th seed.
    The team has a chance to gain HCA for the first two rounds—why not go all out and get it?

  • DorieStreet

    All this back-and-forth about “the path of least resistance” and “easier teams

  • mhpatterson

    Fair enough, but we cant risk that. We play at the exact same time at the Grizz and we can’t assume they will lose and shoot for the 5 spot, otherwise there is at least a 50-50 chance we end in the 6 spot, which is catastrophic and would put us against the 3, 2, and 1 seeds on the road.

  • mhpatterson

    Exactly. We WANT to win this game. I don’t want to risk the 6th seed, that would just be dumb. Also even if we beat the Pels they can still make the playoffs if the Thunder also lose in Minnesota…but it really doesn’t matter too much. GSW will wipe the floor with either team and at any rate it won’t matter because if we are the 2 seed we won’t face them in the 2nd round anyways, so who cares how hard GSW 1st round matchup is.

  • thedrwolff

    No mystery here. This is the NBA. Pacers win, Houston wins (are we kidding about wondering here?), Memphis can see the scoreboard and by the second qtr realize they can’t even GET the 5 seed even if they wanted it. By score (houston by 15+ going into the 4th) that may even be apparent by gametime. As soon as they know they have nothing to gain by playing the starters…that one is over. Indiana wins. Those games and seedings are all locked. the ONLY thing to see here is an insane N O home crowd against the Spurs juggernaut. Davis will have a great game I’m sure…I’m going to be watching Kawhi on Tyreke Evans. Evans is a poor shooter from all distances and relies heavily on his Parker like ability to get to the rim past any single defender. When he gets cut off by the help he throws it to the rim in Davis direction, usually for highlight finishes. This play is 30% of the NO offense. It has been highly successful for them…against the leagues average defenses…But tonight…tyreke will have to dribble around the CLAW…and we know how that goes. Leonard should have an excellent offensive game as their small forward position is the teams weakness. Kawhi should go off on Pondexter. Pondexter is a streaky three shooter. If New Orleans plays the game of their life and the Spurs are cold from three…this is going down to the wire, otherwise it’s over by the beginning of the 4th. It’s easy to be a nervous spurs fan. Looking from the outside…the spurs should win big.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    Remember Westbrook was wolfing at Pop and the Spurs the game before their latest contest when the Spurs blew them out? Pop just glared at Russ and slightly nodded. I wouldn’t put it past Pop to give Westbrook and the Thunder the “F___ You” and lose tonight on purpose, thereby sending the hated Thunder home with no playoffs.

  • sankans

    The “path of least resistance” involves as many home games as possible; the Spurs were nearly unbeatable at home this year, so it won’t matter who they’re playing if they have home court. With the way they’ve been playing lately, it’s going to come down to Warriors-Spurs for a trip to the finals, no matter how the seeds shake out.

  • TD BestEVER

    I agree the Spurs should try to win tonight if for nothing else than to keep the good time rolling. We don’t need anyone getting extended minutes tonight, bench guys included. Plus 2nd round HCA will be huge for our role players especially if it the Clippers we face. They don’t defend well but have had the Best offense in the NBA for a while now. So making their guys play on the road where role players USUALLY don’t shoot the ball as well. So guys like Barnes and Hedo will usually struggle some. As well as Big baby and Hawes. Hopefully they struggle enough the 1st 2 games that we just steam role them in games 3 and 4.

  • DorieStreet

    Seriously?
    Pop-no, wait-any coach—-purposely losing a game that will improve the team’s playoff position—-to keep another (depleted and struggling=likely not advancing) team out—-because a player on that team said something to the coach?
    SMH.

  • http://blackboxvoting.org/ Nicholas Landholdt

    I said several weeks ago the Spurs would regret blowing the Knicks game and Khawi missing two free throws vs. Cavs which would have won that game in regulation. The scrubs would have been playing tonight.

  • DorieStreet

    “Riotsmoke” does not think so—read all of those posts. That person is advocating dropping to #5, thus avoiding DAL in round 1, then ducking the LAC/HOU winner in round 2 —-even with the Spurs having HCA over those three teams as the 2 seed.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    Did I stutter?

  • Jason

    No. We get tiebreaker for seeding purposes. But home court is based on head-to-head, and there we lose the tiebreaker because they have a better conference record.

    http://stats.nba.com/playoffpicture

    d. Home Court Advantage: For purposes of home court advantage, ties will be broken pursuant to the procedures used for breaking two-team ties for playoff position.

  • Jason

    My bad.
    a. Two Teams Tied

    (1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    Btw Dorie troll did you see how the Pels jumped all over the lifeless Spurs who looked like they didn’t want to be there? Only Parker acted like the two seed was on the line. So you were saying?

  • Ryan McShane

    Spurs lose. Grizz need W to get 5th seed. Pacers not looking good. Yeah, I’m not excited by the prospect of playing the 3, 2, and 1 seeds on the road.

  • thedrwolff

    New orleans plays the game of their life. we make 2 three’s till garbage time. Game over. Their game plan was excellent. Keep us off the three point line and live with midrange shots or challenges against Asik and Davis. On offense do NOT be pass happy, be shot happy. we had one steal and plenty of turnovers. They had 10 steals and few TO. The plus to this story is that OKC…as a franchise…gets knocked down a few pegs and people realize what a two way monster the BROW truly is. He canned the game winning 3 against a healthy Durant,, westbrook, Ibaka to give them the tiebreaker and in the last 4 games leads them to wins over Golden state on the road and the 21-3 world champs at home. That’s pretty fricken impressive.

  • thedrwolff

    Did Danny Green even play

  • thedrwolff

    She was saying that that kind of conspiracy theory put forth as something to be taken seriously…is why no one takes what you say seriously. Any Questions?

  • DorieStreet

    I looked at your posting history. All of your posts here at 48MOH are recent—and negative-about the Spurs. Most of your posts are at ‘Piston Powered’.
    (If Detroit does get a top-three pick, who will they choose in the draft?)
    I only comment on two Spurs fans sites. So your name-calling is inaccurate.

  • NYC

    Dorie has been on this board for at least the past 8 years I have. If that doesn’t give her comments more weight in my eyes, than the fact that her opinions are closer based on reality does.

  • thedrwolff

    all of that, all of the battling and all of the struggle…the 11 game win streak….and we end up right back in the 6 seed. New Orleans is a legitimately good team with the best two way player on the planet. Man our defense was flat tonight. No steals, No blocks, no turning them over with pressure…we barely fouled. It’s official. Last years EASTERN 1 seed and Western 2 seed are out of the playoffs. The preseason favorite for the title is out of the playoffs. The media that was on westbrook will now shine on Davis. Globally OKC was getting all kinds of fans…Now its time for AD

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    LOL you can be a troll, as long as you are a longtime troll, I guess. And I’ve been reading this blog since Gordian and McNeil were the main posters, and Caleb and Trevor weren’t even around, trolls. Been a hardcore Spurs fan since 2006-2007 season. Also read PTR and ProjSpurs.

  • mattman22

    Haha. That hack a Josh smith was pretty funny.a buddy of mine, a rockets fan, and i bet drinks every free throw. but either way it all doesn’t matter now that we are 6 spot. GO SPURS GO