Four days left in the NBA regular season with the OKC Thunder and their peers still seeking to confirm seeding. TI recaps April 6 and previews April 7 slate.
Next weekend the NBA playoffs will begin but at this stage none of the first round series are set and only a few teams have locked in their seeding. What we do know is the OKC Thunder will not have home court seeding but they could finish as high as fifth or as low as eighth.
Entering April 7th OKC will face the Wolves in a matinee which will determine if they keep their options open for fifth place finish. Utah is likely to nab fifth however given they only need one more win to remove that option from the confirmed playoff seeds below them.
A more feasible target is sixth which the Thunder should aspire to capture so they can avoid the Warriors (the likely top seed) until the Conference Finals. In concert with that thought is Portland is still in play to land the third seed which would bode well for the Thunder if they finished in sixth.
As highlighted in our recap from Friday this is the ideal scenario for OKC and you can see the full details of what needs to occur for this series to pan out.
Results from Saturday, April 6 games:
A meager set of games on the slate Saturday with just four teams playing (three who’ll be playoff bound) and all from the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee rested Giannis Antetokounmpo and lost a close (133-128) match to the Brooklyn Nets who are battling with five teams all vying to land the final three seeds in the East. In the other game, the 76ers capitalized on having Joel Embiid on the floor as they defeated the Bulls 116-98. In spite of the victory, the 76ers have yet to nail down the third seed since the Celtics own the tiebreaker and are mathematically in the mix to tie Philly.
Sunday, April 7 slate of games:
With that, the itinerary for Sunday features 17 teams still in the mix to land a playoff berth. Of those 15 teams playing in 10 different games will be looking for wins to help their cause.
- Miami Heat vs. Toronto Raptors – 12:00 PM
- San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 3:00 PM
- OKC Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves 3:30 PM
- Charlotte Hornets vs. Detroit Pistons – 4:00 PM
- Brooklyn Nets vs. Indiana Pacers – 5:00 PM
- Phoenix Suns vs. Houston Rockets – 7:00 PM
- Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics – 7:30 PM
- LA Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors – 8:30 PM
- Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 9:00 PM
- Utah Jazz vs. LA Clippers 9:30 PM
Revised seeding:
Eastern Conference:
Of the teams playing Sunday the games to keep an eye on is the Heat in Toronto, Hornets vs. Pistons, Nets vs. Pacers and Magic vs. Celtics. Each of those games could result in movement at the bottom of the East ladder and losses by either or both of Miami and Charlotte could signal the end of their seasons.
- Milwaukee Bucks: 59-21 (Bucks clinched home court throughout playoffs)
- Toronto Raptors: 56-24 (3.5) (Raptors locked in second seed)
- Philadelphia 76ers: 49-30 (9.5)
- Boston Celtics: 48-32 (11.0)
- Indiana Pacers: 47-33 (12.0)
- Brooklyn Nets: 40-40 (19.0) Win over Bucks moves them back up to sixth
- Orlando Magic: 40-40 (19.0)
- Detroit Pistons: 39-40 (19.5)
- Miami Heat: 38-41 (20.5)
- Charlotte Hornets: 37-42 (21.5)
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
In the West, the matches with the most intrigue revolve around placement of teams in the three through eight rungs. The OKC Thunder will try to extend their win streak by beating the Wolves (something they’ve yet to do this season).
Portland attempts to keep their three seed hopes alive hosting the Nuggets, the Suns will try to play spoiler with the Rockets and the Clippers and Jazz will tip off both with hopes of moving up a ladder rung.
Western Conference:
- Golden State Warriors: 55-24 —
- Denver Nuggets: 53-26 (-2.0)
- Houston Rockets: 52-28 (-3.5)
- Portland Trail Blazers: 50-29 (5.0)
- Utah Jazz: 49-30 (6.0)
- LA Clippers 47-33 (8.5)
- OKC Thunder 46-33 (9.0)
- San Antonio Spurs: 46-34 (9.5)
Check back tomorrow for the results from the night’s matches and the set up for Monday’s scheduled 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.