The regular season in the NBA concludes this week and there are still one or two things to sort out before we head into the playoffs at the weekend! The playoff games get started on Saturday April the 16th.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have clinched the Central Division, Oklahoma City Thunder have won the Northwest Division, Golden State Warriors have clinched the Pacific Division and the Southwest Division has been won by the San Antonio Spurs. The Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers, the Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers have also clinched a playoff berth, which means that we have 14 teams confirmed for the playoffs at this point.
There are now 13 teams that cannot progress to the playoffs and these teams are:
- New York Knicks
- Brooklyn Nets
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Chicago Bulls
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Washington Wizards
- Orlando Magic
- Denver Nuggets
- Sacramento Kings
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Los Angeles Lakers
- New Orleans Pelicans
With 14 teams confirmed for the playoffs and 14 teams out of the running, we have three teams still in the hunt for two remaining places. All of the focus falls on the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
Tuesday 12th April 00:00 BST Tip-off time / 01:00 CEST
- Atlanta Hawks @ Cleveland Cavaliers
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Orlando Magic
Tuesday 12th April 00:30 BST Tip-off time / 01:30 CEST
- Washington Wizards @ Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets @ Boston Celtics
Tuesday 12th April 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Houston Rockets @ Minnesota Timberwolves
- Chicago Bulls @ New Orleans Pelicans
- Los Angeles Lakers @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday 12th April 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Dallas Mavericks @ Utah Jazz
Tuesday 12th April 03:00 BST Tip-off time / 04:00 CEST
- Sacramento Kings @ Phoenix Suns
The Celtics at home to the Hornets looks a good bet and you should take Boston Celtics at -7, at odds of 1.90. If you are looking for the Over/Under market for this game, look to go UNDER 208.5, which you can find at odds of 1.90. The Rockets and the Timberwolves could be a closer affair but with the Rockets having plenty to play for, take the Houston Rockets at -3.5, on offer at 1.90 and for the Over/Under market, look to go UNDER 216.5, which you can find at odds of 1.90.
The Mavericks and the Jazz sees two teams hoping to snatch a playoff place face off against each other, which means that this is likely to be the game with something riding on it.
Wednesday 13th April 00:00 BST Tip-off time / 01:00 CEST
- New York Knicks @ Indiana Pacers
Wednesday 13th April 00:30 BST Tip-off time / 01:30 CEST
- Philadelphia 76ers @ Toronto Raptors
- Miami Heat @ Detroit Pistons
Wednesday 13th April 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs
Wednesday 13th April 03:30 BST Tip-off time / 04:30 CEST
- Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Clippers
It’s a truncated card in the early hours of Wednesday morning for NBA fans in the UK and Europe as we head into the final day of the regular season. None of these games involve the teams still fighting for a playoff spot so while there is no immediate action or interest, there will still be jostling for a good finish and personal pride on offer. The Spurs will want to get back to winning ways at home and the Thunder represent a strong challenge to those aims.
Thursday 14th April 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Philadelphia 76ers @ Chicago Bulls
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Minnesota Timberwolves
- Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks
- Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers
- Toronto Raptors @ Brooklyn Nets
- Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics
- Atlanta Hawks @ Washington Wizards
- Orlando Magic @ Charlotte Hornets
- Sacramento Kings @ Houston Rockets
- San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks
Wednesday 13th April 03:30 BST Tip-off time / 04:30 CEST
- Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors
- Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers
- Los Angeles Clippers @ Phoenix Suns
- Denver Nuggets @ Portland Trail Blazers
One big thing to look out for in the final run of fixture sin the NBA schedule is whether the Golden State Warriors can make a bit of history. If they manage to win their final regular game of the campaign, they will hold the record for most wins in the season. The team grabbed their 72nd win of the campaign in San Antonio and now they are going all out to overtake the record set by the Chicago Bulls back in 1995/96.
If things are still undecided in the playoff hunt by this time, the Mavericks have got a hard task in welcoming the Spurs to Dallas, the Jazz should feel as though they can defeat the Lakers and the Nuggets will have to overcome the Blazers in Portland.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...