Enormous Consequences looks at the day’s games that are most impactful in the NBA playoff race.
Enormous Consequences: Grizzlies, Clippers Angling For Home Court
The Memphis Grizzlies and L.A. Clippers are basically tied (with the Dallas Mavericks) for No. 4 in the West heading into Saturday's action. Four more teams sit just a half-game behind them. Needless to say, each team wants badly to win the Grizz-Clips match-up in L.A. on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, League Pass).
Both teams have been struggling; Memphis has dropped three of four since the return of Zach Randolph and L.A. was swept in a back-to-back-to-back this week. But hey! Someone has to win. This game is also critical from a tiebreaker standpoint. The Clips won the first meeting between the teams and can clinch the tiebreaker with a win on Saturday. If Memphis wins Saturday, the tiebreaker would be determined in Memphis on April 9.
There's another critical West match-up on Saturday: the Mavericks at the Rockets (8 p.m. ET, NBA TV). Dallas is in that cluster tied for No. 4; Houston sits a half-game back in the cluster tied for No. 7. Obviously, the Rockets would like to join the higher cluster by swapping places with the Mavericks. Dallas would instead like separation and to keep pace with the winner of Clips-Grizz. This is (stunningly) the first of three meetings between the teams this season, so consider the three games a series to determine a potentially-needed tiebreaker. The second game is Tuesday in Dallas, and the third is April 18 in Dallas.
There's one meeting between potential playoff teams in the West as the Pacers visit the Bucks (8:30 p.m. ET, League Pass). Milwaukee can vault into the No. 8 spot with a win and a Knicks' loss to the Pistons; the Pacers are in a virtual tie with the Hawks (who visit the Wizards) and are fighting with the Sixers for home court advantage in a potential 4-5 match-up.
And now for some Spoiler Alerts, where a playoff contender needs to watch itself against a lower opponent ...
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