Two of the Western Conference’s play-in games are officially in the books. The Minnesota Timberwolves locked up the seven spot by maneuvering past the L.A. Clippers 109-104 on Tuesday night. The Clippers were without two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard (partial ACL tear), but Paul George and the gang fought hard.
George scored 34 points, pulled down seven boards, and dished five assists, and hit several clutch shots in the loss. Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell led the way for Minnesota, scoring 59 combined points, while Karl-Anthony Towns struggled all game.
Towns was consistently in foul trouble and wound up fouling out in the fourth quarter after scoring only 11 points. The Timberwolves rallied after losing Towns, going on a 16-2 run that ultimately put them in position to win. It’s just the second time in the last 17 years that the T-Wolves have punched their tickets to the playoffs.
Minnesota travels to Memphis for some first-round ruckus with the Grizzlies starting April 16. The verdict is still out on Los Angeles, which has another chance to get in.
In the second play-in game out West, the New Orleans Pelicans outlasted the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, winning 113-103. The Pelicans’ CJ McCollum led all scorers with 32 points, while snagging six boards and recording seven assists. Brandon Ingram also chipped in with 27 points, and Jonas Valanciunas scored 22 while securing 14 rebounds for New Orleans.
Now the Pelicans and Clippers will get together on April 15 to fight for the right to party. The winner becomes the eighth seed and advances to face the best team in basketball.
1 Phoenix vs 8 Los Angeles/ New Orleans (TBD)
The Phoenix Suns finished with a record of 64-18, thereby earning the top seed in the West and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Phoenix had home-court advantage in the NBA Finals last year against Milwaukee, but squandered it after jumping out in front two games to zero. The Bucks won Game 5 on the Suns’ court, and ultimately won the championship series 4-2.
The Suns are in a spectacular position to make a second consecutive trip to the Finals, striving for some satisfaction. Devin Booker is on a mission, and he’s delivered an MVP-caliber performance this season. Chris Paul is playing brilliant basketball, despite being in his 17th year. Paul is averaging 14.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, nearly 11 assists per game, and has been known to knock down a clutch shot or two.
With no championship ring to show for his many years of excellence, look for Paul to capitalize on this opportunity. The Suns team that reached the NBA Finals last season is more and less intact, and they remember the Bucks’ victory celebration. This group knows what it feels like to be inches away from glory, only to have it slip away.
It would not be surprising to see the Suns back in the Finals, but first thing’s first. Phoenix flexed on New Orleans to win the season series 3-1, and split with Los Angeles 2-2. The Suns shouldn’t have much trouble with the Pelicans, but the Clippers might make some noise. This is especially true if Kawhi Leonard makes a miraculous return for L.A.
2 Memphis vs 7 Minnesota
What’s not to like about this spunky Memphis Grizzlies group? The Western Conference competition is nothing to sneeze at, and the Grizz have made picnic lunch out of them. Memphis is the youngest team in NBA history to lock up a No. 2 seed, and aims to be the youngest team to win it all. Ja Morant is well on his way to becoming the best overall player in the entire league, and the Grizzlies are deep with talent.
Morant, Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, and De’Anthony Melton all average north of 10 PPG. Tyus Jones, Ziaire Williams, and Kyle Anderson aren’t far short of that scoring capability themselves, and Steven Adams has presence. This squad is loaded with young soldiers who are hungry for duty.
The Timberwolves bring a young and talented team to the court as well, so this first-round series should not disappoint. If Towns finds his footing, this battle may take the full seven games to be decided. Stay tuned as the young guns take the stage.
3 Golden State vs 6 Denver
Stephen Curry (foot) and the Golden State Warriors are back in the postseason mix. The last time that Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green suited up together in the playoffs was the 2019 Finals. The Warriors lost that particular dogfight to the Raptors 4-2, but the chemistry and championship pedigree are undeniable.
Curry’s status for Saturday’s contest against the Nuggets is as of yet undetermined, but there is reason for optimism. Jordan Poole has filled in admirably, first for Thompson earlier in the season, and now for Curry since March 16. Poole owned the month of March, averaging 25.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 4.9 APG, and led the league threes (67).
The Warriors are not a team that anyone wants to face when Curry, Thompson, Green, and Poole are all healthy. Except for maybe the Denver Nuggets. Denver took the first three head-to-head games vs Golden State this season, with the Warriors winning the most recent matchup. However, Denver’s weakness is also by far its biggest strength.
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has single-handedly carried the Nuggets on his back all season. Michael Porter Jr. (back) and Jamal Murray (ACL) have been out of action, and Jokic hasn’t had much scoring support. Yet Jokic has played out of this world, outperforming the 2020-2021 version of himself that won the Maurice Podoloff Trophy.
“The Joker” became the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points, snag 1,000 rebounds, and dish 500 assists in one season. Down the stretch, Jokic shot 62.3% in March and April while averaging 31.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 7.5 assists…This Serbian basketball machine is clearly in line to win his second consecutive MVP award.
In order for the Warriors to advance, they must contain Jokic and put the game out of reach. It’s possible that the Nuggets get either Porter Jr. or Murray back during the playoffs (or both), but there is no official timetable yet for their return. For the moment, Denver relies on Jokic to power the Nuggets to the next round.
The Dallas Mavericks earned home-court advantage for their first-round series against the Utah Jazz, but might become underdogs. Mavs’ superstar Luka Doncic strained his left calf late in the third quarter of the season finale vs. the Spurs. Injuries like this can take anywhere between several weeks and several months to heal, so it’s tricky to predict.
Doncic’s status for Game 1 on Saturday is murky, but Mavericks’ head coach Jason Kidd says he is progressing well. Dallas will be in a tough spot against a desperate and dangerous Utah team if Doncic misses much time. The Slovenian MVP candidate has never made it out of the first round with the Mavs, despite averaging 33.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 9.5 APG in the postseason. Dallas needs Doncic on the court, simple as that.
The flip side of this series has the largely underachieving Jazz feeling intense pressure to finally make a deep playoff run. The partnership between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert has been tested over the years, and seems to have reached its make-or-break point. There were high hopes for this core group in Utah, but time is running out.
Gobert is consistently in the DPOY discussion, having won the award three times. Mitchell ranks fifth all-time in playoff points per game with 28.9, second only to Kevin Durant among active players. The Jazz even posted the best record in the league last season at 52-20, but failed to get past the Clippers in the Conference Semifinals.
If Utah doesn’t at least reach the Conference Finals this time around, a shakeup is likely. The heat is on the Jazz, particularly if Doncic can’t suit up for the series. Fingers crossed that Mitchell and Doncic will have the opportunity to trade shots in a classic Western showdown. Clutch vs clutch, until the series is decided and only one remains.
