Each NBA team has 5-6 games remaining before the regular season concludes next weekend. All 10 Eastern Conference playoff spots have been clinched. Three teams will fight for the final two playoff spots out west, with the championship favorites emerging in last year's conference champions, the Suns and Bucks. Injuries on contending teams, seeding, some rotation questions and an unusually contested awards race remain in flux one week before the Celtics conclude their season in Memphis.
Robert Williams III's meniscus tear rocked a rising power in Boston after they had won 22-of-25 and built the league's best net rating (+15.6) over that stretch. The biggest impact appears to be thinning Boston's margins, the Celtics unable to build more than a 10-point lead in Friday's win over the short-handed Pacers and going up by no more than seven in Wednesday's loss to Miami. The Celtics had outscored opponents by 18.9 points per 100 possessions with Williams III on the floor over the past two months (+10 for the season). They'll feel his loss most on the offensive glass (3.5 percentage points better OREB% with Williams on), defense (4.9 fewer pts/100 allowed) and in fouling (-3.5 FT rate for opponents). All impacts on the margins that gave the Celtics possession advantages in the half court and in transition. Only Tatum's minutes swung Boston's fortune (+16.6 on-off difference) more than Williams III's (+7.7 on-off) among Celtics starters. Keep that Tatum number in mind for our MVP conversation.
The Celtics should still be able to win a first-round series, but they'll be playing games like their last two the whole way, Ime Udoka reminded his team late this week. For a group that's 13-21 in clutch situations (40.6% FG), the resolve Jayson Tatum (37.2%) and Marcus Smart (26.7%) show in those situations would always dictate the team's championship hopes against the best competition. Boston can still get to those situations against anyone, with Al Horford and Daniel Theis providing more depth, cohesion and impact on both ends than almost any other backup five options in the league. Now, they'll need to hammer out their fourth-quarter execution sooner. Jaylen Brown missed four straight shots late attacking Miami's defense head-on in Wednesday's loss.
"You can go hunting matchups against Boston, but that's not really our style of game," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told Boston Sports Journal on Friday. "When we slow down and try to do that, we lose momentum offensively. I just think they're a very, very sound team defensively, a very good team offensively, and they make it tough on you for the whole game ... I think Boston will miss Williams for sure, but they got Theis sitting over there, Horford's a great player, Grant Williams is a terrific player, and a high-level role player for them, and they also have the ability to play smaller, because Tatum can play four and Brown can play four. I like their chances to be a team that can advance in the playoffs."
The Celtics and Bulls' meeting on Wednesday will determine their tiebreaker and much of the movement along the middle of the conference. Chicago and Toronto are now tied for the No. 5 seed, 2.5 games back of Boston. The Celtics' magic number to secure a home-court advantage spot is three with four games to play. They're closer to rising to a top-two seed than sliding, especially after the Bucks resting starters in a loss to the Clippers on Friday. Boston owns tiebreakers over Miami, Milwaukee and Philadelphia, and with high-powered Nets, Hornets, or Hawks offenses potentially emerging out of the play-in tournament, there's no escaping difficult matchups in the east. For all the talk of avoiding Brooklyn, it'll be difficult to do with the No. 1 seed Heat and No. 4 seed 76ers 2.5 games apart, while the Nets sit in a three-way tie for No. 8. Udoka expects to sprinkle in some rest over Boston's final four games, as does Milwaukee and Philadelphia, likely solidifying Miami's top status despite their recent slide. The Heat recently revamped their starting lineup with former Celtics training camp forward Max Strus starting in place of Duncan Robinson.
"We made a few tweaks and got back to being who we are: guarding somebody, playing on the open floor, making shots, and sharing the ball with one another,” Jimmy Butler said. “That’s the way we want to look and the way we want to play.”
Boston lost key depth prospects in Javonte Green and Strus in recent years, and now look fortunate to have Theis back. Green remains a key depth piece for the Bulls with Lonzo Ball's (knee) playoff status uncertain. Elsewhere, Ben Simmons (back), Gordon Hayward (ankle), Jarrett Allen (finger), Evan Mobley (ankle) and John Collins (finger/foot) all hope to impact their teams into the postseason, along with Williams III in 4-6 weeks. Udoka said the placement of the tear in Williams III's meniscus allowed for a quicker return, ESPN reporting 4-6 could even be on the conservative side. The Bulls, Celtics and Nets need to get healthy to get on their rival's level into the second round.
Hayward returns Saturday after missing 22 games for Charlotte, who holds a valuable tiebreaker over the Nets. Brooklyn visits Atlanta the same day for a key matchup in avoiding the 9-10, single elimination leg of the play-in tournament. A battered Cleveland team holds home-court advantage in the 8-9, double-elimination portion, by 2.0 games, but face Philadelphia and Brooklyn this week as losers of 10-of-16. Five Thirty Eight projects the Celtics to host the Bulls as the three seed with Toronto and Philadelphia meeting in the 4-5 matchup. Miami and Milwaukee would host the play-in winners, though the predictions have the C's and Sixers tied in the final standings, with Toronto and Chicago 1.0 game apart. Chicago owns that tiebreaker. It's all so close and the 76ers' closing schedule is relatively weak (CHA/CLE/IND/TOR/IND/DET). Boston visits Milwaukee on a back-to-back on Thursday that'll factor heavily into their tiebreaker (Boston leads series 2-1).
Out west, the Suns secured the No. 1 seed by 7.5 games and would top the east by 13 games over Miami. Like the Heat, Bucks and Sixers, they'll enter the postseason at relatively full health. The Grizzlies and Warriors lost Ja Morant (knee) and Steph Curry (foot) late in the season, both set to be reevaluated this week with Memphis cruising to seven straight in Morant's absence and Golden State at risk of falling to the 4-5 round with Utah if they can't secure some wins, but their schedule lightens up after hosting Utah tonight. A 3-6 matchup against Denver might be worse than falling anyway, the Warriors losing 3-of-4 to the Nuggets in the regular season. Utah and Denver sit only 0.5 games apart in the five and six slots, with the Jazz (4-0) owning the tiebreaker. There might not be much navigating in the middle of the west. If there is, the Jazz might be the group everyone aims for -- again. Memphis will host the winner of the Timberwolves and Clippers play-in game.
The Lakers play Denver twice, along with Phoenix, Golden State and Oklahoma City this week effectively two games behind San Antonio (1.0 game up with tiebreaker) for the west's final postseason spot, more likely to miss the playoffs entirely than make it with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook back in the starting lineup. The Clippers' health, Paul George back with Norman Powell (foot) and Kawhi Leonard (knee) looming is the far more intriguing late-season story in Los Angeles, one that could change the NBA Playoffs should they beat Minnesota and secure a first-round series with Memphis. Having to play the Suns right away could spell the Clippers' doom. The hot Pelicans also swept LAC in the season series if they end up playing for the No. 8 seed.
MVP
Nikola Jokic enters the final week as the favorite to secure his second straight MVP, with an indisputable, historic 26.6 PPG, 13.6 RPG and 8.0 APG stat line on 58.1% shooting that surpass his production while winning the award last year. No other star is carrying a bigger load and he'll likely finish with 75 games and 33 minutes per night, Denver an astounding 18.8 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor compared to off. He's defending at a high level as the anchor of the Nuggets' 13th-ranked unit and the only case against him would be his team's standing -- now likely negated by Joel Embiid and the Sixers' fall from the top of the east. Could Giannis Antetokounmpo make the push for his third career MVP after averaging 33.3 PPG, 12.8 RPG and 4.8 APG in March? It's an underrated possibility with the Bucks in play for a No. 1 seed, though still a distant one. Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic or Ja Morant likely round out the top-five in voting.
Rookie of the year
Remains a three-man race between Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes, with Barnes now holding the winning argument Mobley had all season before Toronto and Cleveland traded places in the east. Mobley's also on the shelf with an ankle sprain that could end his regular season averaging 14.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 2.5 APG on 50.6% shooting alongside elite defensive metrics, with opponents shooting 4.5% worse at the rim and 6.3% worse from mid-range with Mobley on the floor compared to off. It's Barnes making up the most ground with 15.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.1 SPG on 49.1% shooting to lead the Raptors' offense many nights, despite a monstrous March from Cade Cunningham that put him in the same breath as Michael Jordan among best rookie months ever. Injuries (62 games) and efficiency (41.9% FG) on a bad Pistons team (22-56) will hurt Cunningham, but he could still have the best career of the three players.
Sixth Man
Oddsmakers agree Tyler Herro has sixth man of the year in the bag as the head of Miami's offensive attack into their second units. Herro averaged 20.7 PPG off the bench, over four points better than Jordan Clarkson among players with at least 50 games played in that role. This one could be unanimous if Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kevin Love don't steal a vote or two. Clarkson won the award last season.
Most improved
Voting here always becomes a difficult split between best overall player who improved, the biggest actual improvement and the status leap. Ja Morant's explosion closely mirrors the way Julius Randle claimed the award last year, driving his team to a home court advantage seed in the playoffs. There's a case Darius Garland, Dejounte Murray and Tyrese Maxey all actually improved more over last year, because Morant was outstanding in 2020-21 too, but his leap from 20 PPG scorer to nearly 30 PPG took Memphis to an elite level and will secure this award, even if Maxey's scoring average increased marginally over his. Don't knock Murray's 9.3 APG and Garland's 8.7 APG on bad offenses.
Defensive player of the year
Voting will be a fitting rock fight between Marcus Smart, Bam Adebayo, Mikal Bridges, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert. Williams III's injury will put even more eyeballs on Smart to become the first guard DPOY since Gary Payton in 1996 as Boston narrowly hangs on to the No. 1 defense in the league over Phoenix. Milwaukee and Utah's fall from the top-10 defensively makes it tough to award their big men, while Smart's reputation will carry heavy weight with voters, with a top-19 DFG% among guards who face at least 10 shots per night, the third-most steals per game among players with at least 67 games, the ability to guard all five positions and great stories about his communication. His 2.9 deflections per game rank seventh among players with 60 appearances, his 0.6 loose balls recovered on defense sixth, his 15 charges takes tied for 11th and his 1.5 box outs per game lead all guards. He's everywhere.
All-NBA First Team
Will likely feature Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Morant and Doncic, with the extra forward spot an intriguing methodology vote between squeezing Embiid into a forward spot, or giving Tatum, LeBron or Demar DeRozan the nod at their rightful positions. If Embiid gets more center than forward votes, he'll be classified as a center and fall to the second team. That'll still pull some votes from DeRozan and Tatum, creating an odd split. Kawhi Leonard and Embiid both received 28 first-team votes last year, while Embiid received 70 second-team votes to Leonard's 58. Tatum could lose votes if he receives guard designation from some voters too. It's a wonky process.
Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell, Curry and Young will battle for four spots on the second and third teams. The remaining forward spots will go to the first-team snub between DeRozan, James and Tatum. Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler likely fall to the third team due to missing significant time to injury. Embiid or Jokic will be the second-team center. Karl-Anthony Towns has a clear shot at third.
All-Rookie
Barnes, Cunningham and Mobley are All-Rookie First Team locks with Franz Wagner and Josh Giddey deserving of rounding out one of the stronger teams in recent memory. The Second-Team should feature Jalen Green, Ayo Dosunmu, Chris Duarte, Herbert Jones and Alperen Sengun, with Bones Hyland and Jonathan Kuminga in the mix too as factors on winning teams.
All-Defense
The Celtics should be well-represented on the All-Defense teams. Smart, Bridges, Antetokounmpo, Adebayo and Gobert are relative locks for the first team. The second team could feasibly include Derrick White, Tatum, Horford and Williams III, with Jaren Jackson Jr., Jrue Holiday and Draymond Green lurking as mainstays. Mobley and Herb Jones boast strong cases as newcomers. Deandre Ayton, Butler, Embiid and Matisse Thybulle should receive some votes too as defensive anchors.
Here's what else happened in the NBA this week...
Atlanta (40-37): Officially clinched a playoff spot with a four-game win streak, scoring at least 121 points in each and setting up a dead heat with the Hornets and Nets between the single-elimination and double-elimination legs of the play-in tournament. All three are tied for the No. 8 seed with five games remaining, and the Hawks host Brooklyn on Saturday after dropping their first two meetings and the tiebreaker. Atlanta narrowly holds a division record tiebreaker over the Hornets. Kevin Huerter is on a 21.3 PPG, 60.6% three-point shooting tear during the win streak, while Trae Young is 19 points behind Demar DeRozan and 28 assists ahead of Chris Paul for the first season by a player leading the league in points and assists since Tiny Archibald in 1973.
Boston (48-30): Had their earth-shattering dominance halted immediately when Robert Williams III tore his meniscus in the Celtics' blowout win on Sunday over Minnesota. They received an encouraging 4-6 week window for his return, but will likely need to get through the first round of the playoffs with Grant Williams and Daniel Theis in his place. The Celtics dropped back-to-back games after for the first time since January, a rest night in Toronto that cast some uncertainty over the team's vaccination status (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford rested), then a slugfest to Miami on Wednesday. Boston holds the No. 3 seed by 1.0 game over Philadelphia (with tiebreaker). They're 1.0 game behind Milwaukee for No. 2 and 1.5 games back of the Heat for No. 1. The Celtics' magic number for home court is three, hosting the Wizards on Sunday before a three-game road trip to Chicago, Milwaukee and Memphis looming this week. Maine center Juwan Morgan signed a 10-day contract as insurance behind emergency center Luke Kornet.
Brooklyn (40-37): Now 8-6 since Kevin Durant returned and 1-2 through Kyrie Irving's first homestand since becoming eligible to play home games at Barclays Center. Brooklyn ranks No. 3 in offense and No. 16 in defense since Durant's return, but fell to a net +0.2 since playing five straight games with Irving. The Hornets' 119-110 win on Sunday secured a tiebreaker for Charlotte in a now-packed race for play-in tournament positioning. Brooklyn's No. 6 seed elimination number of two all but guarantees they'll have to play their way into the postseason, and they could fall to the single-elimination portion of the tournament (9 vs. 10). A win on Saturday in Atlanta would secure a three-way tiebreaker over Charlotte and Atlanta. Ben Simmons (back) seems bound to miss the regular season, but The Athletic reported he's resumed on-court workouts toward trying to join the team for the playoffs.
The latest on the potential ramp up of Nets three-time All-Star Ben Simmons: pic.twitter.com/p7LbIc6KHU
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 1, 2022
Charlotte (40-37): Isaiah Thomas has, in part, inspired the Hornets to win 8-of-10 and clinch a postseason spot and tiebreaker over the Nets that could loom large on the 8-9 seed line. They're No. 2 in offense and No. 23 in defense over that stretch, like Atlanta leaning on scoring as the barometer for whether they'll win on any given night. LaMelo Ball has cut down his turnovers (2.4 TOV) while Miles Bridges returned to borderline all-star efficiency, shooting 55.8% from the field and 46.8% on threes to lead Charlotte with 23.3 PPG. They travel to face Philadelphia, Miami and Chicago over their last five games, and could use a Hawks win over Brooklyn to begin dreaming of the No. 8 seed, but they're firmly in the mix and would land there if the season ended today. They're also 2.0 games back of Cleveland for No. 7.
Chicago (45-32): Got back on their feet and beat the Cavaliers, Wizards and Clippers in overtime behind 50 points from Demar DeRozan. Their home court advantage dreams will still die with each ensuing loss (4 elimination number for No. 4 seed) or wins by the teams above them. The Raptors have caught them for No. 5 too, sitting just 0.5 games back, which continues to set the Bulls on a collision course with either Boston or Philadelphia in round one. Chicago still has a -6.7 net rating over its last 10 games, and Lonzo Ball (knee) is running out of time to rehab his left knee as he slowly restarts rehab following a setback in his recovery from meniscus surgery.
Cleveland (42-35): Two more bad losses for the Cavaliers' defense finished the team's fall from one of the top teams in the eastern conference to the play-in tournament, currently the No. 7 seed if the season ended today. Their loss to Atlanta officially clinched a play-in bye for the Celtics and a 6-10 March record for themselves. They ranked 21st in offense and 26th in defense last month. Evan Mobley sprained his left ankle in Cleveland's win over Orlando on Monday, perhaps finishing a snake bitten season where Collin Sexton (knee), Ricky Rubio (knee) and Jarrett Allen (finger) all suffered regular season-ending injuries. Allen is expected to fight through his broken left middle finger to rejoin the team for the playoffs. Cleveland also hopes Mobley's swelling goes down in time to get back on the floor this week. Their magic number to clinch a spot in the double-elimination leg of the play-in tournament and their elimination number to avoid the play-in are four with five games left to play, setting up must-wins against New York, Philadelphia, Orlando and a critical trip to Brooklyn.
Dallas (48-30): Hit their stride offensively to beat the Jazz, Lakers and Cavaliers and vault over the Warriors via tiebreaker to the No. 3 seed in the west. They could've clinched that spot if they won out over the Wizards, Bucks, Pistons, Trail Blazers and Spurs, but dropped the first game badly. Golden State (+0.5 games) should help them out with losses in Curry's absence though. Dallas officially avoided the play-in tournament and has a magic number of four to secure home-court advantage in round one, another potential step for a group three wins away from its best season since their 2010-11 championship due to defensive improvements under first-year coach Jason Kidd.
Denver (46-32): Opened the door for Minnesota to catch them, holding a 2.0 game lead with four to play above the play-in tournament line. They can also move up, with two games against the Lakers, and tough opponents in San Antonio and Memphis possibly swinging the MVP race. The Nuggets can also rise into the 4-5 round, only 0.5 games back of Utah. Michael Malone won't rule out Jamal Murray (knee) for the season despite inevitably sitting until some point in the postseason, while Michael Porter Jr. (back) suffered a setback after initially hoping to return in March. It feels like the team will need to make a serious run to give Jokic's fellow stars a chance to reenter the picture, which is possible if they draw an injured Warriors team round one as would be the case if the playoffs started today.
Detroit (22-56): Stunned the 76ers and poured 123 points on the Nets in a close loss as Cade Cunningham continues to make a late charge at Evan Mobley for rookie of the year. Cunningham got off to one of the slowest starts in the league, shooting 38.3% through Christmas after a preseason ankle injury. Since, he's averaging 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 5.8 APG on 44.1% FG. His 22.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 7.0 APG splits in March joined Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson among the best ever in a single month for a rookie. Recency bias will help Cunningham as the Cavaliers fade, but Mobley still deserves the award for helping earn Cleveland a playoff berth and establishing one of the best defenses in the league.
Golden State (48-29): Expect Steph Curry (foot) back for the first round after ruling him out for the rest of the regular season from an injury he suffered last month when Marcus Smart fell on him diving for a loose ball. He'll be reevaluated next week, the Warriors now losers of 6-of-7 since losing Curry while falling to 28th in offense over that stretch. Golden State fell behind the Grizzlies and Mavericks last month, losing a tiebreaker to Dallas and still not secure for home court with a 2.0 game lead over the Jazz and Nuggets. Their magic number to clinch the No. 4 seed is four with five to play, losing both tiebreakers. They host Utah on Saturday night.
"We were hoping that maybe he could play one or two games at the end of the regular season, but that was kind of a long shot," Steve Kerr said on Friday. "This is how it's turned out ... I'm not too worried about him."
Houston (20-58): They've clinched a top-four spot in the lottery and hold a 2.5 game lead on the Thunder with four to play on the Thunder for the best lottery odds overall in the bottom-three. The team shut down Christian Wood, Eric Gordon and Dennis Schröder for the season earlier in the week.
Indiana (25-53): Rick Carlisle announced Chris Duarte (toe) probably won't play for the rest of the regular season, as Malcolm Brogdon sat for the seventh straight game with back soreness. The Pacers sit in the No. 5 spot in the lottery, losers of six straight with 3.0 games on the Trail Blazers and 2.0 games behind the Thunder. They currently have their third-fewest wins in franchise history with four to play.
Clippers (38-40): Returned Paul George to the lineup after a 42-game absence with a torn UCL that threatened his season. An invigorated Clippers team scored a comeback win over the Jazz to break a five-game losing streak, George looking like he never left with 34 points and six assists. Los Angeles remains confident they can get Kawhi Leonard (ACL) back on the floor too if the Clippers advance past the play-in tournament, which will likely only require one win. George's availability increases those chances greatly, and with Norman Powell (feet) working is way back too, the Clippers could be the NBA Playoff's sleeping giant that most thought the Nets were.
Lakers (31-46): LeBron James suffered another sprained ankle in a loss to the Pelicans that improbably put the Lakers on the brink of missing the play-in tournament entirely with the Spurs making a late-season push for the No. 10 seed. They lost their fourth straight game to the Jazz before returning James and Anthony Davis to the lineup for Friday's rematch with New Orleans, losing again after James missed a potential game-tying three. Davis scored 23 points with 12 rebounds and six assists in his return, but they're now on the brink with a hard closing stretch. This group just keeps finding new lows, with the next potentially them winning the lottery while the Pelicans own their pick via the Davis trade. They currently have a 26.3% chance at a top-four pick in the No. 8 slot.
Memphis (55-23): Clinched the No. 2 seed and inevitably awaiting the winner of the Timberwolves and Clippers game in the 7-8 matchup of the west play-in tournament. Ja Morant (20-2) got shelved midway through March with knee soreness, a concern, though one the Grizzlies could handle more conservatively given their standing and success without Morant this season. Memphis stunned the Suns without four starters to score its seventh straight win, now inching within one win of the 2012-13 Grizzlies for the best season in franchise history.
Miami (49-28): Got their swagger back in an important mid-week win at Boston, Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler trading big fourth-quarter shots while Bam Adebayo facilitated on his way to 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the win. It gave the Heat a 1.0 game cushion on Milwaukee and 1.5 games over the Celtics in the race for the No. 1 seed, which Miami seems willing to claim while competitors rest starters or try to avoid Brooklyn. Max Strus, the former Boston training camp invitee turned Heat starter this week, blocked Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in crunch time as Erik Spoelstra lauded his defense. Strus also shot 38% from three on 7.2 attempts per game in March. Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris lost out in Miami's latest rotation crunch. Miami's magic number for No. 1 is four with five to play. Lowry returns to Toronto on Thursday for the first time since leaving as a Raptors champion and legend.
Milwaukee (48-29): We've seen Giannis Antetokounmpo close out the NBA Finals with 50 points and Thursday's Milwaukee comeback from down 11 points to win in overtime in Brooklyn might've been his sweetest moment yet. Antetokounmpo drained a game-tying three with 18.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter before hitting game-winning free throws with 3.0 seconds left in overtime as part of a 44 point, 14 rebound, six assist masterpiece on 14-for-21 shooting. Giannis' latest out-dueling of Durant showed how ready the Bucks are to win a championship, and how unafraid they seem to be of facing their budding rivals in the first round of the playoffs. They should be considered east favorites.
Minnesota (44-34): Clinched the No. 7 seed and can potentially climb above the play-in line, though that's unlikely since they're 2.5 games behind Denver with four to play. Karl-Anthony Towns secured a key win over the Nuggets on Friday night with 36 points and secured the tiebreaker, capping an uneven week that began by getting mashed in Boston and losing by 23 in Toronto. Houston, Washington and San Antonio games offer an outside shot at catching Denver, and with Paul George back for the Clippers that may be all the more important.
New Orleans (34-43): Far from in a perfect situation themselves, the Pelicans not only demoralized the Lakers' playoff hopes with a pair of wins that knocked LA out of the playoff picture for now, they're also giving themselves hope to retain their own first-round pick. New Orleans protected the 2022 Lakers pick it received in the Anthony Davis trade 1-4 when the team sent it to Memphis, and thrusting the Lakers into the middle of the lottery gives them a small chance to cement its core of Brandon Ingram, C.J. McCollum and Zion Williamson with another top prospect. The Pelicans have won 7-of-10 and now have a magic number of four to secure the No. 9 seed with five games to play.
Oklahoma City (22-55): Outside the top three lottery odds by 0.5 games after winning tank-off games over Orlando and Portland in recent weeks. Only Theo Maledon played all of their previous 15 games, so they're trying to get up there (2-13). Shai-Gilgeous Alexander quietly averaged 29.0 PPG on 53.1% shooting over his last nine losses this seasons. They're going to be an interesting team to watch this offseason, because it might be time to actually turn good. They have three first-round picks and can create some cap space in a tight market to throw around.
Orlando (20-58): Lost four more games despite an uptick in offense provided by Markelle Fultz, now averaging 10.4 PPG, 4.7 APG and 2.0 TOV on 45.5% shooting in 14 games back from ACL surgery, and Franz Wagner. Wendell Carter Jr. (wrist) continued to sit to finish a bounce-back season, and even this team that's been so dreadful all season looks one more nailed draft pick from becoming interesting.
Philadelphia (46-30): Doc Rivers seemed to call out James Harden amid three straight losses to Phoenix, Milwaukee and an inexplicable eight-point setback at Detroit. Harden shots 34.9% from the field and 33.3% from three in the games, now 10-6 in a 76ers uniform, but struggling to shoot while Philadelphia's offense fell to 17th in March.
"(The bench) didn't struggle," Rivers said in Detroit. "They didn't get a lot of shots in their defense. I think during that stretch, it was more James than them. So you know, yeah, it's just a tough night."
Phoenix (62-15): Had their nine-game winning streak broken and sit comfortably as the No. 1 seed, though intriguing developments in the west play-in picture like the Timberwolves' strong finish and Paul George returning to the Clippers could set the Suns up with a tough first-round opponent. They haven't had trouble with anyone though, outscoring opponents in fourth quarters by 13.4 points per 100 possessions. Their next win will set the franchise record, with Devin Booker taking over to average 26.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 4.9 APG in a season that's approached MVP caliber late in the season.
Portland (27-50): Lost their sixth straight game to rise to No. 6 in the lottery with a real chance to catch the Pacers at No. 5, Portland only 2.5 games better than Indiana with five to play. They've been off the radar for some time, and despite Damian Lillard's insistence that he's happy with the direction of the franchise, his future will again become a major topic this offseason depending on what the Trail Blazers can make of potentially over $30-million in cap space this summer. It may benefit both Lillard and the team to move on at this point.
Sacramento (29-49): Won 4-of-5 against the Pacers, Magic and Rockets, only hurting their own lottery odds at No. 7 in the lottery behind Portland with the rapidly-spiraling Lakers (Pelicans/Grizzlies own pick) 2.5 games ahead of them.
Toronto (45-32): Rose above the play-in line with five straight wins as the Cavaliers continued to slip in the aftermath of their meeting. They've caught the Bulls at the No. 5 seed, with a likely chance to play Celtics or 76ers in round one who wouldn't confirm to ESPN whether their full teams are eligible to play north of the border (vaccination is required for passage). The Raptors have on-court advantages too, namely their No. 1 defense over the past 10 games and 24.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG and 5.4 APG on 53.3% shooting from Pascal Siakam over their last 10 games, becoming the most under-discussed star in the league this year. Playoff opponents are in for a surprise.
Utah (46-31): Lost four straight before beating the Lakers to close March. They've slipped within 2.5 games of the play-in tournament line, with a magic number of two with five to play to secure at least the No. 6 seed. They ranked 11th in offense and 14th in defense last month, settling closer to mediocrity that it'll be hard to imagine Danny Ainge accepting as a fresh voice in the front office. It really feels like the futures of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert at least get discussed now after multiple runs with this group of players seemingly going nowhere.
Washington (34-43): They somehow have a better record than the Lakers. Kristaps Porzingis averaged 21.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 3.1 APG on 47.2% shooting in March, six Wizards joining him in double-figures including late-surging rookie Corey Kispert, who shot 39.4% from three. They were officially eliminated from the playoffs this week, losing 35-of-56 after a 14-8 start under first-year coach Wes Unseld Jr.