The NBA is more than halfway down its seeding layer, and with each passing day, the postseason picture becomes a little clearer. In the East it is only a matter of positioning, but in the West the definitive place is still known. Two teams were officially eliminated from controversy on Sunday, but there are still four teams competing for that final spot, which will now be definitively determined by a play-in series between the eighth and ninth seeded in the conference.
Injury problems also plagued a contest for Eastern Conference, and an All-Star guard jumped back in a significant way after a disappointing performance on Saturday. Here are four key takeaways from Sunday’s NBA action.
1. Pelicans, Kings eliminated from controversy after the season
Hopes for the playoffs of both the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings came to an end on Sunday. With the Trail Blazers’ victory over the 76ers, both teams were officially eliminated from the playoff controversy. The four teams still vying for the final playoff spot in the West are the Grizzlies, Blazers, Spurs and Suns.
The Grizzlies still have a slim lead in the race for eighth, but all three of those teams are within two games of Memphis with a few games left for each team. According to ESPN, the Grizzlies have a 62 percent chance of securing the final seed in the playoff picture. Which team ultimately ends up in the final spot in the West will come out against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers, who secured the final overall seed in the conference last week.
2. Western Conference Record Series Guaranteed
With their 108-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, the Grizzlies guaranteed a play-in series would take place. To trigger such a series, the ninth-seed team in the conference must finish within four games of the eighth seed when the seeding layer is complete. That is mathematically guaranteed to happen now.
The idea of a play-in series for the final spot in a conference was added by the NBA prior to the restart of the season. The idea behind the series was to give hunting teams a fair chance to compete for the spot, even though they would not have done the full-fledged 82-game. In the series, the eighth-seeded team will only have to win once to claim the final playoff spot in the conference, while the ninth-seeded team will have to win two in a row before the eighth-seeded team once wins.
3. Lady Time
Dame Lillard had an uncharacteristically unattractive moment on Saturday because he missed two free throws in the closing moments of Portland’s game against the Clippers, and as a result, the Blazers went on to lose the game. The loss was especially hard to swallow, given the fact that the Blazers are fighting for a mountain after the season. Lillard, however, took care of that on Sunday, as he went absolutely nuclear against the Sixers and in turn led the Blazers to a need for win. Lillard finished the game with 51 points and seven assists. It was the 10th 50 performances of his career and fifth of this season.
If Lillard goes through it like on Sunday night, then he’s almost unstoppable, and in the end the Sixers were flat out unable to. Lillard appears determined to give Portland the best possible chance of getting into the offseason, so don’t be surprised if he still has an enormous game to go before the seeding lay of the league is complete.
4. Cutting issues plague 76ers
The Sixers may not seem to be catching up in Orlando for a while. Earlier this week it was announced that forward Ben Simmons would leave the bubble to undergo knee surgery, and is expected to miss the rest of the season as a result. So, the Sixers came down on Sunday night their matchup with the Blazers in one All-Star, and in the first quarter of the game they lost their other All-Star. After regaining order and consulting his linesman, the referee called FC’s Joel Embiid to one side and produced a red card for the player. Instead, he was rode out with an injury to the left ankle. Embiid eventually returned to the Philadelphia sideline, and he showed up in solid spirits. The Sixers have no update on Embiid after the match, but an update on his status will likely be provided in the very near future. Of course, the Sixers will hope to have their center piece back before the game of the season begins on August 17th.
