We are heading into the last full week of action in the NBA regular season and we’ve had the unusual situation of the Golden State Warriors feeling a bit sorry for themselves. Their aim of going through the regular season undefeated at home crumbled with the Boston Celtics delivering an excellent performance and now the Warriors have to focus on other matters. There is a chance that they can get the best regular NBA season record but it may be that they just decide to focus on channelling everything into the playoffs.
At this stage of the season, only 9 teams have yet to figure out whether they’ll be in the playoffs or cooling their heels. There is still plenty to play for with respect to finishing higher up the rankings and building momentum but less than one third of the NBA teams are really playing for something in the week ahead.
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 Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Clippers have also clinched a playoff berth, which means that we have ten teams confirmed for the playoffs at this point.
There are now 11 teams that cannot progress to the playoffs and these teams are:
- New York Knicks
- Brooklyn Nets
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Orlando Magic
- Denver Nuggets
- Sacramento Kings
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Los Angeles Lakers
- New Orleans Pelicans
The week ahead in the NBA schedule runs as follows:
Wednesday 6th April 00:00 BST Tip-off time / 01:00 CEST
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Philadelphia 76ers
Wednesday 6th April 00:30 BST Tip-off time / 01:30 CEST
- Charlotte Hornets @ Toronto Raptors
Wednesday 6th April 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Cleveland Cavaliers @ Milwaukee Bucks
- Chicago Bulls @ Memphis Grizzlies
- Detroit Pistons @ Miami Heat
- Phoenix Suns @ Atlanta Hawks
Wednesday 6th April 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets
- San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz
Wednesday 6th April 03:00 BST Tip-off time / 04:00 CEST
- Portland Trail Blazers @ Sacramento Kings
Wednesday 6th April 03:30 BST Tip-off time / 04:30 CEST
- Minnesota Timberwolves @ Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Lakers @ Los Angeles Clippers
With no NBA games scheduled for Tuesday in the UK or Europe, basketball fans this side of the pond have to wait until the early hours of Wednesday morning to see some action this week. There is a big crop of games though so as long as you have some patience, you’ll be well rewarded.
The Bulls in Memphis is likely to be one of the more intriguing games with both sides having plenty to play for and the Los Angeles derby match is also on. The Spurs in Utah has the makings of an interesting clash and the Warriors will be at home to the Timberwolves, where surely the hosts won’t slip again?
Thursday 7th April 00:00 BST Tip-off time / 01:00 CEST
- Cleveland Cavaliers @ Indiana Pacers
- Detroit Pistons @ Orlando Magic
- Brooklyn Nets @ Washington Wizards
Thursday 7th April 00:30 BST Tip-off time / 01:30 CEST
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets @ New York Knicks
Thursday 7th April 02:30 BST Tip-off time / 03:30 CEST
- Houston Rockets @ Dallas Mavericks
Thursday 7th April 03:00 BST Tip-off time / 04:00 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Portland Trail Blazers
Thursday 7th April 03:30 BST Tip-off time / 04:30 CEST
- Los Angeles Clippers @ Los Angeles Lakers
The two Los Angeles sides clash again so it will be interesting to see if there is any fall-out or roll-overs from the previous days game. The Celtics welcome the Pelicans, the Cavs in Indiana could be worth a watch and the Thunder in Portland may be of interest.
Friday 8th April 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat
- Phoenix Suns @ Houston Rockets
- Toronto Raptors @ Atlanta Hawks
Friday 8th April 03:00 BST Tip-off time / 04:00 CEST
- Minnesota Timberwolves @ Sacramento Kings
Friday 8th April 03:30 BST Tip-off time / 04:30 CEST
- San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors
Ordinarily the Spurs against the Warriors would be a must-see but with less than a week of the regular season to go, it may not live up to its billing. Mind you, this could be a perfect opportunity to lay down a marker on potential playoff opponents so it could be one of the highlights of the NBA schedule this week.
Saturday 9th April 00:00 BST Tip-off time / 01:00 CEST
- New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers
- Miami Heat @ Orlando Magic
- Brooklyn Nets @ Charlotte Hornets
Saturday 9th April 00:30 BST Tip-off time / 01:30 CEST
- Indiana Pacers @ Toronto Raptors
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Boston Celtics
- Washington Wizards @ Detroit Pistons
Saturday 9th April 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Los Angeles Lakers @ New Orleans Pelicans
Saturday 9th April 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Memphis Grizzlies @ Dallas Mavericks
Saturday 9th April 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- San Antonio Spurs @ Denver Nuggets
- Los Angeles Clippers @ Utah Jazz
It is a busy Saturday in the NBA schedule with the Wizards in Detroit looking like one of the big games of the day. The Bucks in Boston and the Grizzlies in Dallas could all be worth checking out as well.
Sunday 10th April 00:00 BST Tip-off time / 01:00 CEST
- Phoenix Suns @ New Orleans Pelicans
Sunday 10th April 00:30 BST Tip-off time / 01:30 CEST
- Boston Celtics @ Atlanta Hawks
Sunday 10th April 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Golden State Warriors @ Memphis Grizzlies
Sunday 10th April 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Cleveland Cavaliers @ Chicago Bulls
Sunday 10th April 03:30 BST Tip-off time / 04:30 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Sacramento Kings
- Minnesota Timberwolves @ Portland Trail Blazers
Sunday 10th April 17:00 BST Tip-off time / 18:00 CEST
- Charlotte Hornets @ Washington Wizards
Sunday 10th April 20:30 BST Tip-off time / 21:30 CEST
- Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets
Sunday 10th April 22:00 BST Tip-off time / 23:00 CEST
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Philadelphia 76ers
- Utah Jazz @ Denver Nuggets
Sunday 10th April 23:00 BST Tip-off time / 00:00 (Monday 11th April) CEST
- Orlando Magic @ Miami Heat
- Brooklyn Nets @ Indiana Pacers
The Sunday NBA schedule is packed to the rafters as well with the Cavaliers in Chicago looking like a high point. The Jazz in Denver could be worth watching and the Mavericks taking on the Clippers in Los Angeles could throw up something of interest too.
Monday 11th April 00:00 BST Tip-off time / 01:00 CEST
- Golden State Warriors @ San Antonio Spurs
Monday 11th April 00:30 BST Tip-off time / 01:30 CEST
- Toronto Raptors @ New York Knicks
The Spurs and the Warriors clash again, which could have a grudge element to it and the Raptors are in New York to take on the Knicks as the NBA starts to shift towards the playoffs.
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...