Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

OKC Thunder: 26 seeds up in air in wild finish to season – Tank wars 5.0

By Tamberlyn Richardson

OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Darius Bazley (7) talk while sitting on the bench: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Darius Bazley (7) talk while sitting on the bench: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 7
Next
OKC Thunder
Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) goes for the block against OKC Thunder forward Luguentz Dort (5) : Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

The final weekend of the NBA regular season is here with the OKC Thunder seeking to complete their efforts of tanking and improve their lottery position. The goal is to nab one of the bottom three positions since that trio will have the best shot (14 percent) of winning the lottery to land the top pick.

Shifts have occurred this week as fellow tanking teams helped the Thunder. Less than a week ago, there was a real possibility that five teams could finish with identical records and coin tosses would have to determine which two clubs would join the Rockets.

With the Wolves and Cavaliers defeating the Pistons and Celtics that changed and now the Thunder at worst will likely only have to face the Orlando Magic in the coin toss that will determine who lands in the bottom three and who gets the fourth-best odds.

Wild weekend on tap to determine final seeds and lottery order:

As for the overall board, only one postseason participant in each conference is cemented. The Spurs are the 10th seed and the Celtics are the seventh seed.

Utah and Phoenix are vying to win the West while the 76ers need to one of two games versus the Magic to wrap up the East’s top seed.

The Clippers have an outside shot at second but would need to win both matches (Rockets, Thunder) and hope the Suns lose both games versus the Spurs. It’s more likely the Clippers will be third although the Nuggets (currently fourth) could also move up to third.

The West middle tier and bottom tier offer ample possibilities as each of the Mavericks, Blazers, and Lakers are vying for the fifth through seventh seeds with the clear goal of avoiding seventh. Golden State and Memphis both covet the eighth seed with one ensured the ninth position.

The closing schedules for the teams fifth through ninth are:

  • Mavericks – Raptors, Wolves
  • Blazers – Nuggets
  • Lakers – Pacers, Pelicans
  • Warriors – Pelicans, Grizzlies
  • Grizzlies – Kings, Warriors

Perhaps the most intriguing scenario is whether the Lakers can win both games and force the Blazers to have to win Sunday versus the Nuggets in order to stay out of the play-in tournament.

Similarly, in the East, one game separates Brooklyn (Bulls, Cavs) and Milwaukee (Heat, Bulls) for second and third. The games versus the Bulls could factor as Chicago is statistically still in the play-in mix although unlikely given Washington (Cavs, Hornets) would need to lose both games and Chicago win both to knock the Wizards out.

Stranger things have happened, especially with Cleveland beating the Celtics this week demonstrating they aren’t fully invested in the tank.

The Hawks, Heat, and Knicks are embroiled in the race for fourth through sixth with Atlanta having the best odds to take the fourth seed. Although, the Rockets could play spoiler if they beat the Hawks. New York owns the tiebreak versus Atlanta.

Other than the middle of the ladder race the other big race will be who gets the 8th through 10th seeds with each of the Hornets, Pacers, and Wizards in the mix.

But, Thunder Nation is most interested in the tanking wars so let’s dive into how the final weekend could affect lottery position.

Home/Thunder Draft