Zion Williamson to a hamstring injury<\/a> in early January. Williamson sustained multiple setbacks in his recovery and it’s still unknown whether he’ll be ready to rejoin the squad when the playoffs begin. He’s been working out with the team, but his status remains a question mark.<\/p>\nThe Pelicans are +15000 odds to win the championship, and +4500 odds to win the conference.<\/p>\n
Timberwolves, Thunder Cling to Play-In<\/h2>\n The Minnesota Timberwolves (39-40) are currently in ninth place and hold a one-game lead over the 10th-place Oklahoma City Thunder (38-41). There’s a slim chance they could ladder up and move into the seventh or eighth-place spots, but both teams only have three remaining games.<\/p>\n
The Timberwolves are in the middle of a three-game losing streak even though big man Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the lineup after missing several months with a calf injury. They play two more road games against the Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs before ending the season against the Pelicans in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
FiveThirtyEight<\/em> projects the Timberwolves have a 3% chance to advance to the NBA Finals, with a 0.8% chance to win it all. As expected, the Timberwolves are a long shot at +20000 odds to win the championship.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Thunder are the most vulnerable team, with a one-game lead over the Mavs and a 1.5-game lead over the Utah Jazz. They have two more road games against the Warriors and Jazz before returning home to host the Grizzlies in the season finale.<\/p>\n
FiveThirtyEight<\/em> predicts the Thunder have less than a 0.1% chance to reach the NBA Finals and win the championship. It’s no surprise that the Thunder have astronomical odds to win the title at +100000.<\/p>\nThe Bubble: Mavs and Jazz<\/h2>\n The Mavs are a hot mess right now. They advanced to the Western Conference finals last season, but are on the verge of missing the Play-In Tournament.<\/p>\n
The addition of point guard Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline has been a disaster. The Mavs are 1-7 in their last eight games and only 6-14 since the All-Star break. The Mavs gave up several key role players, including two astute defenders and 3-point shooters in guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Dorian-Finney Smith, as part of the trade package to acquire Irving.<\/p>\n
The Mavs are in currently 11th place with a 37-42 record. They dropped three games in a row, including a heartbreaking loss in overtime against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night. The Mavs trail the Thunder by one game in the loss column. They have three games remaining on the schedule, and all three are at home in Dallas against the Kings, Bulls, and Spurs.<\/p>\n
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FiveThirtyEight<\/em> projects that the Mavs have a 6% chance to qualify for the playoffs. They’ll need to win out their final three games and hope the Thunder falter down the stretch if they expect to sneak into the backdoor of the Play-In Tournament as the 10th-place team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Jazz are currently in 12th place and 1.5 games behind the Thunder. The Jazz haven’t been mathematically eliminated from Play-In contention because they have four remaining games, including three at home in Salt Lake City. They play the Lakers twice more, and face the Nuggets and Thunder. FiveThirtyEight<\/em> estimates the Jazz have a 0.3% chance to secure the #8 seed in the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heading into the final week of the NBA season, the playoff picture in the Western Conference is still unclear, and Play-In Tournament spots are still up for grabs. The Eastern Conference playoff standings are much more organized, and the final week of the season will determine the #1 seed and the seeding for the Play-In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":267275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83079,1074],"tags":[85224,84253,83123,81255,81033,85713,81258,85183,83084],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Western Conference Playoff Picture & Play-In Murky - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n