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The 2023-24 NBA regular season concludes on April 14. Until then, almost every game that is played is going to impact the NBA playoff race, especially every game that is played in the Western Conference. Although the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder are locks to make the playoffs at the top of the standings, everyone else seems like a roll of the dice right now.
The Western Conference standings are so bunched up that one or two losses could result in a team moving from the 4-seed all the way down to the play-in tournament and having to fight for their lives just to earn a playoff spot.
The Los Angeles Clippers lead the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans by two games, and these two teams lead the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns by just one game. The Kings and Suns currently occupy the 7-seed and 8-seed spots, respectively, entering Wednesday night. Then, those two teams are 1.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers, who are 1.5 games ahead of the No. 10 Golden State Warriors.
Anything can happen over the course of the next week and a half in the West, which is why the only thing that matters to all of these teams is picking up any win they can.
A nine-game slate on Wednesday is headlined by a matchup between the Thunder and the Boston Celtics, two organizations that may very well be the 1-seeds in their respective conferences come time for the playoffs. This game, along with a few others, will directly impact the NBA playoff race.
Only one game played on Wednesday night will hold no ties to the NBA playoff race, as the Portland Trail Blazers will take on the Charlotte Hornets. The only headlines that will be made in this game pertain to where each team ends up in the standings and their spot in the NBA Draft lottery. For Charlotte, head coach Steve Clifford recently told the team he is stepping down as head coach at the end of the year.
The NBA playoff picture and standings are set to change yet again as a result of some interesting battles on Wednesday night.
Lakers vs. Wizards (7:00 PM ET)
Fresh off a win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers are back in action against a team near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. However, the Washington Wizards also find themselves coming off a win, as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 117-113 in a shocking upset. With this being the second night of a back-to-back for the Lakers, it shouldn't come as a shock if either Anthony Davis or LeBron James sit out for extra rest. Believe it or not, this is a big game for the Lakers pertaining to the NBA playoff race, as they can possibly move up closer to the 7-seed and 8-seed in the Western Conference with a win.
- LeBron James and Anthony Davis could possibly rest, seeing as this is the second night of a back-to-back for the Lakers.
- The Lakers have won seven of their last eight games and are 1.5 games behind the No. 7 Sacramento Kings and the No. 8 Phoenix Suns.
- Los Angeles sits 1.5 games above the No. 10 Golden State Warriors in the standings.
- A win and a Phoenix loss move the Lakers within a half-game of the Suns for the 8-seed in the West.
Pistons vs. Hawks (7:30 PM ET)
This is a game with very few implications. The Detroit Pistons are fighting for nothing more than pride at this point, and the Atlanta Hawks are looking to end the Brooklyn Nets' postseason hopes. A win by the Hawks, or a Nets loss, knocks Brooklyn out of contention for the play-in tournament. Better yet, the Hawks can pull even with the Chicago Bulls for the 9-seed should they beat Detroit.
- The Hawks lost two out of three games against the Bulls this season, giving Chicago the tiebreaker in the standings.
- Atlanta clinches a play-in tournament spot with a win OR a Nets loss.
Thunder vs. Celtics (7:30 PM ET)
The marquee matchup on Wednesday night features the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics, two teams that may very well reside at the top of the Western and Eastern Conference standings at the end of the season. While the Thunder are coming off a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, they rested Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams so they would be ready for this battle in Boston. The Thunder went from being the 1-seed in the West to now sitting at the 3-seed due to the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves picking up wins on Tuesday. This is a huge game for Oklahoma City to possibly move back up to No. 1 in the West, while also sweeping the Celtics 2-0 this season.
- The Thunder are a half-game behind the No. 1 Nuggets and tied with the No. 2 Timberwolves in the NBA playoff race.
- The Celtics have clinched the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.
- Boston will clinch the best overall record in the NBA with a win.
- A win over Boston and a loss by the Timberwolves make the Thunder the new 1-seed in the West.
Pacers vs. Nets (7:30 PM ET)
In their second meeting in as many games, the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets will actually play one of the more important games on this slate. This game is not only important for the Pacers due to the fact that they are barely holding onto the No. 6 spot in the East, but also because the Nets have outside hopes of making the play-in tournament. Indiana is dangerously close to slipping back into the play-in region of the standings.
- The Nets are eliminated from the NBA playoff race with a loss OR a Hawks win.
- The Pacers are only a half-game ahead of the No. 7 Miami Heat in the East standings.
- A loss to the Nets moves Indiana into a tie for the 6-seed with the Heat, who currently own the tiebreaker over the Pacers.
- A win over the Nets puts the Pacers one full game behind the No. 4 Orlando Magic and No. 5 New York Knicks in the standings.
Grizzlies vs. Bucks (8:00 PM ET)
A loss to the Wizards on Tuesday is not the end of the world for the Bucks, but it definitely opens everyone's eyes to the fact that this team lost in the first round of the playoffs last year as the No. 1 overall team in the league. The Bucks' inability to close out games and find production outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo is very alarming, which is why Wednesday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies is no gimme. Despite all of their injuries, the Grizzlies have remained a strong-minded team that is more than capable of taking down Milwaukee.
- The Bucks are 1.5 games above the No. 3 Cavaliers in the East standings.
- Milwaukee can only clinch the 2-seed or worse in the Eastern Conference after Boston seized the No. 1 spot.
Raptors vs. Timberwolves (8:00 PM ET)
The Raptors have lost 14 straight games, the longest active losing streak in the league. On the flip side, Anthony Edwards leads the Timberwolves, who can move into a tie for the 1-seed with the Nuggets should they hand Toronto their 15th straight loss. Minnesota remains a tough team to figure out since Karl-Anthony Towns' knee injury, yet they continue to fight for the No. 1 overall spot in the Western Conference. Their pursuit of the 1-seed and the entire NBA playoff race will be impacted should the Timberwolves lose at home to the Raptors.
- The No. 2 Timberwolves are tied with the No. 3 Thunder in the standings.
- A win, plus a Thunder loss, momentarily gives the Timberwolves the No. 1 spot in the West due to their tiebreaker over Denver.
- A loss, plus a Thunder win, moves the Timberwolves to the No. 3 spot in the West, one full game behind both Denver and Oklahoma City.
Magic vs. Pelicans (8:00 PM ET)
Another underrated game on the calendar features two teams that reside in the middle of the NBA playoff race in the Eastern and Western Conferences. The Orlando Magic, who have won seven of their last 10 games, are set to take on the New Orleans Pelicans, who have won six of their last 10 games. These two teams met in Orlando two weeks ago, and the Magic asserted their dominance in a 121-106 victory. This final meeting between these two teams has big implications for the NBA playoff race, as a win by either team shifts the balance of both conference standings.
- New Orleans clinches at least a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament with a win over Orlando.
- The Pelicans will move up to the 5-seed in the West with a win on Wednesday.
- A loss to the Magic, plus a Suns win moves the Pelicans to the 7-seed in the play-in tournament.
- The Magic will move within a half-game of the No. 3 Cavaliers with a win and a Cleveland loss.
- A loss to the Pelicans moves the Magic to the 5-seed in the East.
Cavaliers vs. Suns (10:00 PM ET)
Just like the Magic and Pelicans, this Cavaliers-Suns game holds major NBA playoff race implications. Whereas the Suns are looking to work their way out of the play-in tournament picture in the West, the Cavs are attempting to hold onto home-court advantage for a first-round series. There is also an outside chance that they could jump the Bucks for the 2-seed in the East over the final week and a half of the regular season. The fact of the matter is that both of these teams desperately need a big win on national television.
- A win over PHX, plus a loss by MIL, moves CLE just a half-game behind MIL for the 2-seed in the East.
- A loss to PHX, plus a win by ORL, puts ORL just a half-game behind CLE for the 3-seed in the East.
- A win over CLE, plus a loss by NOP, pushes PHX ahead for the 6-seed in the West.
- A loss to CLE, plus a win by LAL, puts PHX just a half-game ahead of LAL for the 8-seed in the West.
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