It’s the time of the NBA season where everything can change every single night. That was certainly on display for the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, when they lost to the Houston Rockets, which dropped them down a spot in the standings … while a win would have propelled them up to the fourth seed.
With just four games remaining, it’s time to take a daily look at the standings in the Western Conference, to see the road ahead for the Warriors and their opponents. Buckle up, Dub Nation!
The standings
The Warriors have been eliminated from gathering a top-two seed, and they’ve clinched one of the top eight spots. They could technically move up to the third seed, but in all likelihood they’ll end up somewhere between fourth and eighth. Here’s where those teams currently sit:
No. 8 — Memphis Grizzlies (46-32)
No. 7 — Minnesota Timberwolves (46-32)
No. 6 — Golden State Warriors (46-32)
No. 5 — LA Clippers (46-32)
No. 4 — Denver Nuggets (47-32)
As you can see, it’s a cluster… well, a cluster followed by a word I can’t say here. Not only are the teams bunched, but four of them have identical records, while the fifth — the Nuggets — has the same number of losses. Thanks to the tiebreakers, the Warriors get to stay ahead of the Grizzlies and Timberwolves, which currently keeps Golden State out of the play-in tournament. Needless to say, that would be huge.
Games remaining
Here are the final games left for each team:
No. 8 Memphis: @ Charlotte, vs. Minnesota, @ Denver, vs. Dallas
No. 7 Minnesota: @ Milwaukee, @ Memphis, vs. Brooklyn, vs. Utah
No. 6 Golden State: @ Phoenix, vs. San Antonio, @ Portland, vs. LA Clippers
No. 5 LA Clippers: vs. San Antonio, vs. Houston, @ Sacramento, @ Golden State
No. 4 Denver: @ Sacramento, vs. Memphis, @ Houston
None of the teams play on Monday, meaning that the standings will remain unchanged for this group going into Tuesday’s games. But then all hell will break lose, as Denver is the only team not playing on Tuesday night. With a win in Phoenix, the Dubs could match Denver’s record (though the Nuggets have the tiebreaker), and could leapfrog the Clippers if they were to lose to the Spurs.
It’s getting interesting!