Bobby Marks: Good first step by NBA, next line of business is to do away with divisions, would not be surprised if that happens for 16-17. #Suns need #Blazers to lose to #Nets to join Griz. A play-in would require collective bargaining with the players' union. San Antonio also had its run. Center Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets on a late run against the Los Angeles Lakers, but it wasn't enough Sunday as the Lakers took a 2-0 lead in … They are still a good quality team. ... Not great. http://twitter.com/MarcJSpears/status/1369710373570510848, http://twitter.com/HowardBeck/status/1293606267202740240, http://twitter.com/TimBontemps/status/1293331448771088384. … 2: Almost every schedule-related change implemented by the league office in recent years has been motivated by a push to prioritize player health and to chip away at the various factors — too much travel, too many back-to-back games, too many unholy stretches of four games in five nights — that make the current 82-game regular-season schedule the dreaded grind that it is. "But I think other teams, I'd more than welcome onto our court", “This first stage is certainly pleasing, but we want more” - Brett Brown on clinching playoff berth. In the '90s you had Chicago that dominated the league. You want to know what’s going on in the league. So that’s the position that LeBron’s ankle was in when he stepped on Alexander-Walker’s foot. - Ben Simmons'. Silver, though, did leave the door open for the possibility of one day rebalancing the two conferences or having a 16-seed tournament, we would be dramatically increasing travel because if we’re going to seed 1 through 16 we would need to have more of a balanced schedule throughout the year,” Silver said. “You try to go hard to win your game and then watch the scores around. Nuggets are 4-4. "We have to be focused. Spurs are 2-5, Neil Olshey on playoff realignment: “If you sat in a GM meeting and anybody brought this up as an initiative, 15 hands would go up from the Western Conference.”, but sources say there is also some behind-the-scenes momentum for the idea of a play-in tournament determining the last two seeds in each conference -- to the point that two specific proposals are circulating at the highest levels within teams and the league office. "There's been dominant conferences throughout time," LeBron James said. "He's been our backbone," Gay said. In theory, revenue from a play-in tournament -- or a midseason tournament -- could ease the league toward slashing a few games from the 82-game schedule, but it is unclear any such tournament would rake in sufficient cash. MIAMI clinches division title with a win AND a Washington loss. The most tantalizing “win-now” move for the Nuggets would be to acquire 27-year-old Washington shooting guard Bradley Beal. NBA is seriously reconsidering idea of reseeding the four conference finalists as part of larger proposal to reshape league calendar. CLEVELAND clinches division title with a win AND an Indiana loss, MIAMI clinches a playoff spot with a win. The next step is to remove conference and/or seed the playoffs 1-16. Can you go over what you saw in the reaggravation in the last game of the season? And by NBA refs. That’s what it is. Silver, mind you, hasn’t signaled that he’s seriously in favor of changing the format anyway. Making matters even more difficult is the fact that Leonard, long a Golden State nemesis, figures to be well-rested for the playoffs. Not likely. Recent comments from NBA commissioner Adam Silver about tweaking the league's playoff format drew intense media coverage. “Nobody wants to play the Spurs, period. Satoransky: "For me, still Cleveland it’s not the best option for me. “And it’s a good story for people to write and to have fun with. We can’t blame anybody if we don’t make it.”, #Suns beat #Mavericks 128-102, meaning #Spurs are OUT. The only team in pursuit of playoff spots three through eight that lost: Denver. But because it was the same mechanism as his original injury, that’s where I think there’s concern of how healthy that ligament is going to be going into Wednesday, when we see an injury that’s the of the same mechanism of what originally caused it, and we’ve already seen a setback in the last time he returned, you have to at least be aware of the possibility that he could be more limited than we maybe think going into it. In the playoffs started today Washington would play Game 1 in Cleveland. The play-in proposal that has generated the most discussion, according to several sources: two four-team tournaments featuring the seventh, eighth, ninth, and 10th seeds in each conference. But it gained a bit more momentum during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the topic at length, even raising the possibility about a future tweak. "In the '80s you had the Lakers who dominated the league at one point, then you had Boston that dominated the league. With Boston beating Memphis, there are currently four teams tied for the eighth spot in the West, pending the result of Portland-Dallas. (They should hang a banner anyway). They're sitting him because his knee soreness is lingering. Do you think people aren’t making a big enough deal about this issue? “Because I’m not hurt,” he said after Sunday’s game. LeBron James averages 30.4 PPG against Stephen Curry, One new NBA player tested positive for coronavirus out of 496 tested since May, I think he put a little control in this team and he helped us get these wins”. Silver believes there are challenges to that concept. Count LeBron James as one player who wouldn't be on board. #Nuggets are still 9th. However, to increase one’s scoring while simultaneously increasing the efficiency in which those points are obtained is a rare occurrence, typically reserved for the elite offensive players in the league. No one knows what the future holds. That’s 20 owners out of 30. Jon Krawczynski: Wolves 119, Pistons 100.KAT 28, 8 and 5 Rubio 19 and 5 Edwards 22 Russell 15 and 10a A 3 at the buzzer kept the Wolves from … Cry foul into a crying towel, if you want. It’s a game of basketball. ", "If you are any type of competitor, than you are built for these games," he said. You could have a Boston-Golden State first-round matchup in the playoffs. But we’ll see what happens. Owners in the Least, er, East are willingly going to make things even tougher? The implementation of a play-in tournament is not imminent. owners would be required to approve such an overhaul. You’re either like, ‘Yes!’ or ‘Oh, man, c’mon.’. Tim MacMahon: For the first time in franchise history, the Jazz finish the regular season with the outright best record in the NBA. “It’s nerve-racking,” Gibson said. Personally.”, "It’s a stat and stats are meant to be broken but I would probably be pleased with a different matchup for us.”, HOUSTON clinches best record in the West with a Golden State loss. Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. became only the third rookie since 2000 to post consecutive 30-point double-doubles but it was Nikola … Silver says the league will continue "examining" the schedule, including the possibility of re-seeding teams 1-16 in the postseason. 4 days ago – via Twitter … After all, they know better than anyone why it would be must-see hoops TV. But, yeah. Can't get rid of divisions yet because of how the schedule works, ex: East 16 games vs Div., 24 for Central/Southeast, unbalance schedule. But when free agency came around, the Nuggets were among many suitors. We can’t blame anybody. The NBA made it official: division winners will no longer be guaranteed a top-four seed in the playoffs. ", “This is your business, so you want to be aware. The other major decision facing the Raptors this offseason is attempting to retain star free agent Kyle Lowry, the team’s longest-tenured player and one of the driving forces behind its 2019 title. Denver Nuggets small forward Danilo Gallinari will decline his player option for the 2017-18 NBA season and become an unrestricted free agent, The … Michael Singer: Nuggets are practicing this morning, and we should be hearing from Michael Malone and two players today. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors are eliminated and will miss the playoffs for the first time in 8 years, So in essence, tonight's loser will be two games behind the other with five games left, The Clippers can clinch a playoff spot today with a win or a Trail Blazers loss, The Brooklyn Nets can clinch a playoff spot today with a win over the Raptors or losses by both Charlotte and Boston, Both Houston and Minnesota are eliminated from playoff contention today with losses AND a win by San Antonio, FINAL: WEST PLAY-IN GAME Blazers - 126 Grizzlies - 122, The Portland Trail Blazers will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, “We put ourselves here. The @Portland Trail Blazers will clinch a Playoff spot with a win over Memphis tomorrow night. They’re still the same team. After all, we are talking mostly about .500-ish teams battling for the right to get destroyed by top seeds. In a recent article, Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype came up with a blockbuster trade idea that would enable the Nuggets to acquire Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier from the Orlando Magic before the 2021 trade deadline.. Nuggets coach Mike Malone saw a "marked difference" in his team's energy and approach on Saturday in Game 2, when Denver evened its series with the Clippers. From the NBA - the Bucks can clinch a playoff spot if they defeat the Lakers tonight, League officials, based on a study of historical data, estimate that the change would increase the cumulative travel for the 16 playoff teams by more than 40 percent every postseason, Adding an estimated 40,000 miles of cumulative playoff travel to the roughly 90,000 miles last season’s 16 playoff clubs logged would work against all those measures. A high-ankle-sprain mechanism occurs when the foot points outwards in what we call external rotation, so the toes are pointed outwards, and the foot sometimes rolls in the opposite direction, so the inside of the ankle goes down closer to the floor. Ira Winderman: Per NBA; Possible clinchings for Friday: Ira Winderman: Per NBA: Possible clinchings for Tuesday: Candace Buckner: #Wizards PG Tomas Satoransky asked about the standings. MIAMI clinches a playoff spot with a win AND a Detroit loss, "I don't wanna play against Lebron James. The Denver Nuggets continued to work their way into game shape with their second practice in the NBA bubble down in Orlando Saturday evening. 1: Obstacle No. We were in a situation where we were behind too much.....it’s on us. The six-time All-Star scored 24 and 25 points in wins over Orlando and New Orleans before coming within two points of matching his season high Saturday. “I’m trying to be honest with myself. Candace Buckner: And why is Cleveland "not the best option?" Nuggets secure Top-4 seed after beating Charlotte TJ McBride: The Denver Nuggets offically secure a top-4 seed with their win over the Hornets . #Pelicans can still earn home court advantage in the first round by beating San Antonio on Wednesday AND the #Jazz losing to Warriors and Blazers on Tues & Weds, TORONTO clinches division title and best record in the East with a win OR a Boston loss. - CJ McCollum on 1-16 playoff seeding, The next obvious move is to eliminate divisions entirely, which could happen as soon as next year. The Jazz is in 8th due to a 5-2 head-to-head record vs. Nuggets and Spurs. “That’s something that’s been talked about amongst everybody that I’ve seen around town,” Ingram, the All-Star whose Pelicans enter play 3 ½ games behind Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, told The Athletic after a win over the Warriors on Sunday night. "No, there's not that kind of caution," he said of having his players healthy for the playoffs, which open April 14. Dallas is now locked into the seven seed, and Portland - with a win over Brooklyn Thursday - will be the eight seed, and need just one win in two tries to make the playoffs, and face the Lakers, Portland is playing right now, so this will change -- but at this moment, the four teams in the West play-in race are separated by 0.0012 percentage points. The Stockton/Malone teams tied for it twice in the late ‘90s. If I’m not hurt, I want to play and I want to be available for my team. Kyle Lowry on free agency: 'No one knows what the future holds'. Nikola Jokić is having a monster start to 2020, averaging 24.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists on 54.1 percent shooting since Jan. 2. Back on track with three games left in a timely six-game homestand, the Spurs understand now is not the time to overlook a seemingly overmatched opponent. A Charlotte Hornets radio announcer was suspended indefinitely by the team as it investigates a tweet he sent Monday that included the n-word in place of “Nuggets.” “But when it goes your way, it’s like Christmas every day. They rallied from 10 points behind with fewer than 10 minutes to go to beat the Wizards on a night when rivals Oklahoma City, New Orleans, San Antonio, Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers all won as well. Nor does he want his players to ignore what’s happening around them in an uber-competitive chase for the final five playoff spots in the West. 8 overall selection with New Orleans and Sacramento at 31-41. There are plenty of cracks in the NBA’s economic model, and they will likely get deeper in the years to come. He’s fine. We don’t look that far ahead, but the coaches have mentioned it a little bit. "We can't let down," said LaMarcus Aldridge, who powered the Spurs past the Timberwolves with a relentless 39-point, 10-rebound double-double. Only way he plays is if insists. "It's live or die for us right now. We're trying to get home court advantage." In fact, they won't be guaranteed playoff spots at all, opening the very real possibility of the Atlantic Division winner missing the postseason. League rules dictate that a two-thirds vote of N.B.A. “Nobody wants to play the Spurs in the first round,” Livingston said after shoot-around Monday morning at AT&T Center. Satoransky mentioned the LeBron stat that he's 21-0 in the first round, the longest streak in NBA history Satoransky: Ira Winderman: Per NBA: Possible clinchings for Thursday: Jon Johnson: Asked Dario Saric if shares Brett Brown's comments about not being intimidated by any team in East: Josh Lewenberg: This one will sting a bit after the big first half but it's a loss many Raptors fans were clamouring for and, strategically, may end up being for the best. If you start messing with seedings and playoffs and then you start talking about, 'Well, if this team would have played this Western Conference team, what....' It's cool to mess around with the All-Star Game, we proved you can do that, but let's not get too crazy about the playoffs. Chris Kirschner: Bogdanovic on Nate McMillan’s influence: “The coaching was a crucial part of our success. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, assistant general manager Calvin Booth and other team staffers took part in a silent Juneteenth march through Denver on Friday. “It just depends on what we are doing,” Ujiri said. 2 seed, they are not sitting Kyrie Irving for rest. Amid the ongoing struggles of the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets, the Heat have faced little pressure when it has come to maintaining a final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. PORTLAND clinches division title with a win AND a Utah loss.