April 4, 2024 | SPORTS | By Thomas Nielsen
It’s April, and alongside flowers and warmer weather comes the end of the National Basketball Association regular season.
It’s a great time to start following the NBA again as March Madness wraps up and the playoffs loom ahead. There are plenty of compelling storylines in the final two weeks of the season as teams try to position themselves for a deep run and players compete for individual awards.
This piece will delve into some of the most prominent stories and narratives from around the league as we barrel closer to the excitement of the postseason.
Can anyone stop the Celtics?
The Boston Celtics were the first team to clinch a playoff spot and secured the number one seed in the Eastern Conference before the end of March. At the time of writing, they currently hold an 11.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks, who hold the second seed in the conference. Basketball Reference’s playoff probability simulator gives the Celtics a 75.6% chance of winning the Eastern Conference and making the finals.
The star-studded starting five of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porziņģis, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday holds the best record in the NBA (at the time of writing, 59-16) and has steamrolled teams throughout the season.
The team likely to give them the most trouble in the playoffs? The Milwaukee Bucks. Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have struggled at times this season, but the duo is talented enough to give any team a run for their money.
Look to watch the Celtics play the Bucks April 9 for a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview.
Who will get the first seed in the West?
In contrast to the East, the Western Conference is wide open. For the past few months, the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC), Minnesota Timberwolves and defending champions Denver Nuggets have been battling it out for the first seed in the West.
At the time of writing, OKC holds the No.1 seed, with Denver a half-game behind, and Minnesota a full game behind. OKC holds the tiebreaker over Denver and split their games with Minnesota. Minnesota is currently winning their season series with Denver two to one, but the teams play again in Denver on April 10 in a game with huge playoff implications.
But beyond tiebreakers, every win matters in the quest to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Bottom of the West
As Western Conference powerhouses jockey for high seeds, teams deeper in the conference are looking to secure a top-six seed to avoid the play-in tournament, a single elimination battle to secure the seven and eight-seed standings in the conference.
Currently, the red-hot Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans hold the fifth and sixth seeds.
But that could stand to change, as Kevin Durant and the Suns are only a game behind New Orleans, and the Sacramento Kings fall one-and-a-half behind. These teams all have games remaining against each other, and standings could change quickly.
Aging Stars Make the Play-In
Some of the best players of the past decade have found themselves in a rough spot outside of a secure playoff spot.
Kevin Durant, Lebron James and Steph Curry all occupy the seven-10 seeds in the Western Conference, despite each having solid individual seasons.
Durant’s Suns have struggled with injuries, as the “Big 3” of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal have scarcely been healthy at the same time. The Lakers are now ninth in the West despite great play from stars Lebron James and Anthony Davis. They hold a one-and-a-half game lead on Curry’s Warriors, who have dealt with controversy surrounding center Draymond Green and declining play from Klay Thompson. Both the Lakers and Warriors will have to stave off the surging Houston Rockets, who have won 11 of their last 12 games and look to play a Lebron-Curry Play-In Matchup.
Joel Embiid Health
One of the biggest questions going into the playoffs surrounds the health of last season’s MVP Joel Embiid, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Embiid has been sidelined since Jan. 30 and has since had surgery on his lateral meniscus. Before his injury, he was averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists a game. Embiid will likely have returned by the time of publication, but his health could determine the fate of Philadelphia in the playoffs.
Currently, the 76ers sit at eighth in the East, two-and-a-half games back from sixth place and a guaranteed playoff spot. With a healthy Embiid, the 76ers will be under-seeded and could potentially make a run in the East. That said, it remains to be seen if Embiid will be ready for playoff basketball. His recovery and return games will be indicative of Philadelphia’s playoff chances.
MVP Race
Defending NBA champion and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is the current frontrunner in betting odds (-700 per DraftKings) for MVP. The Serbian star has put up ridiculous numbers this year, averaging 26.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 9.0 assists in 72 games, and likely leading the Nuggets to a top-three seed.
Behind Jokic sits Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA). Luka has led the surging Mavericks to fifth in the West with similarly ridiculous numbers: 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists.
SGA has taken a huge jump this year, averaging 30.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals a game, helping take the Thunder from 10th in the West last year to competing for the top seed of the conference.
Though their odds are set much lower, Giannis and Jayson Tatum of the Celtics also have MVP cases with incredible individual seasons leading their teams to the top two seeds of the Eastern Conference.
While Jokic is the likely pick, two MVPs in the last three years might cause some voter fatigue. Perhaps the race between Jokic’s Nuggets and SGA’s Thunder for first place in the West will change voters’ minds.