OKC Thunder: Daily playoff seed update, April 6

Five days left in the NBA regular season with the OKC Thunder and their peers still seeking to confirm seeding. TI recaps the April 5 games and their effect.

A week from today the 2019 playoffs will begin! Who will play each other however remains a mystery as so many teams still don’t know either their seeding or who their opponent is. For the OKC Thunder, they’ve moved up to seventh through two games this week and are a half game off moving up to sixth.  OKC could also potentially finish fifth, but it would require the Jazz losing all their remaining games which is unlikely.

Thunder fans should keep eyes on third and sixth seeds in West:

Rather, the teams (and associated games) to keep an eye on for the Thunder are the Clippers, Blazers, and Rockets. This because the Blazers could still claim the third seed from the Rockets who they trail by 1.5 games in the loss column. And, the Thunder could overtake the Clippers to finish sixth.

Portland owns the tiebreaker over Houston and has an extra game remaining.  The loss to the Nuggets Friday didn’t help the Blazers cause but they’ll get another shot at them at the Moda Center as they complete the home and home series. The other two games should be easy victories as they complete their season at the Lakers and home to the Kings.

As for the Clippers, they’ve lost two games in a row and things aren’t improving as their final two games feature the Warriors on the road and the Jazz. Meanwhile, the Thunder face a trio of tough matches at Minnesota, home to the Rockets and in Milwaukee for game 82.  By the time the teams reach Tuesday’s Thunder-Rockets match the winner could potentially determine the seeding of all four teams.

If you’re wondering why I’m suggesting this be the fans/team primary hope:

1. OKC swept the Blazers this season and with the loss of Jusuf Nurkic, they enter the postseason at far less than 100 percent.
2. The winner from the 3-6 first round series will avoid the Warriors (presuming they get the top seed) in the second round to play the winner from the 2-7 series.

Results from Friday, April 5 Games:

Of the 13 games on the slate of events for the NBA on Friday, all but two featured a team (or teams) jockeying for playoff seeding. The OKC Thunder beat the Pistons (post game grades here) which helped them to stay ahead of the Spurs and cut the gap between themselves and the Clippers.seeding.

• Charlotte Hornets defeat Toronto Raptors: 113-111
• Orlando Magic beat Atlanta Hawks: 149-113
• San Antonio Spurs over Washington Wizards:129-112
• Boston Celtics defeat Indiana Pacers: 117-97
•  Houston Rockets beat New York Knicks: 120-96
• Minnesota Timberwolves beat Miami Heat: 111-109
• OKC Thunder beat Detroit Pistons: 123-110
• Utah Jazz beat Sacramento Kings: 119-98
• Denver Nuggets over Portland Trail Blazers: 119-110
• Golden State Warriors beat Cleveland Cavaliers: 120-114
• LA Lakers beat LA Clippers: 122-117

Revised seeding:

Eastern Conference:

The big jump in the East occurs at the bottom of the ladder as the Magic vault up to sixth (two days ago they were ninth). While the Pistons drop to eighth and the Heat are now a full game back in ninth.

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Milwaukee Bucks: 59-20 (Bucks clinched home court throughout playoffs)

Philadelphia 76ers: 49-30 (10.0)

Boston Celtics: 48-32 (11.5)

Indiana Pacers:  47-33 (12.5)

Brooklyn Nets: 39-40 (20.0)

Detroit Pistons: 39-40 (20.0)

Miami Heat: 38-41 (21.0)

Charlotte Hornets: 37-42 (22.0)

Western Conference:

1. Golden State Warriors:  55-24 —
2. Denver Nuggets: 53-26 (-2.0)
3. Houston Rockets:  52-28 (-3.5)
4. Portland Trail Blazers: 50-29 (5.0)
5. Utah Jazz: 49-30 (6.0)
6. LA Clippers 47-33 (8.5)
7. OKC Thunder 46-33 (9.0)
8. San Antonio Spurs: 46-34 (9.5)

Friday night served up a full slate of games in the Association. In all, 15 teams with desires of playing in the postseason were in action including the OKC Thunder.

The bottom of the Eastern Conference saw the biggest shift as the Magic vaulted up to sixth place while the loss by the Pistons to our Thunder dropped them to eighth.

Only four teams play Saturday with three squads headed for the postseason. Brooklyn will be hoping Milwaukee decides to rest some players as they tip off in the first match while the 76ers will be looking to sew up the third seed in the latter game versus the Bulls.

Check back tomorrow for the results from the night’s matches and the set up for Sunday’s massive slate of games.

And, if you’re seeking more details on each team’s remaining games and where they can potentially finish check out TI’s initial article in this series.