Western Wrangling: NBA playoff seeds Western Wrangling: NBA playoff seeds
By Mike Monroe
As we begin the final six weeks of the regular season, most NBA teams have 19, 20 or 21 games remaining, roughly one-quarter of the 82-game schedule.
In 23 seasons of covering the NBA, I can’t recall a tighter race than the one for playoff seeding in the Western Conference.
The Lakers have turned the race for the No. 1 seed into a runaway, but the seven teams bunched behind the Lakers — sort of like the field behind Secretariat in the great thoroughbred’s Triple Crown races — are separated by only 41/2 games.
The Spurs have been second for the past month, but coming into today there five teams were within three games of them.
Here is an inside look at the remaining schedules of the seven teams chasing Kobe Bryant and Co.:
Spurs (41-20)
- Home games: 12
- Home vs. plus-.500: 7
- Road Games: 9
- Road vs. plus-.500: 4
- Back-to-backs: 4
- Lakers factor: Once more, at home.
Nuggets (40-23)
- Home games: 11
- Home vs. Plus-.500: 2
- Road Games: 8
- Road vs. Plus-.500: 5
- Back-to-backs: 4
- Lakers factor: Once more, on road.
Rockets (40-23)
- Home games: 9
- Home vs. Plus-.500: 6
- Road Games: 10
- Road vs. Plus-.500: 7
- Back-to-backs: 3
- Lakers factor: Twice more, home and road.
Hornets (40-22)
- Home games: 8
- Home vs. Plus-.500: 6
- Road Games: 12
- Road vs. Plus-.500: 5
- Back-to-backs: 3
- Lakers factor: No more games
Jazz (39-23)
- Home games: 7
- Home vs. Plus-.500: 2
- Road games: 13
- Road vs. Plus-.500: 10
- Back-to-backs: 6
- Lakers factor: Once more, on road.
Trail Blazers (39-23)
- Home games: 10
- Home vs. Plus-.500: 6
- Road games: 10
- Road vs. Plus-.500: 4
- Back-to-backs: 3
- Lakers factor: Twice more, both at home.
Mavericks (38-25)
- Home games: 9
- Home vs. Plus-.500: 7
- Road games: 10
- Road vs. Plus-.500: 6
- Back-to-backs: 3
- Lakers factor: Once more, on road.