Enormous Consequences: NBA Teams Continue To Jostle For Playoff Position

Mar 30, 2012, 4:01 PM UTC

Enormous Consequences is a daily look at the most impactful games in the NBA’s playoff races.

The NBA playoffs are creeping closer and, with that, quite a few teams are still jostling for postseason positioning. There will be plenty of that going on Friday night, too, as 12 games are scheduled to take place around the league as the weekend begins.

It's pretty difficult to choose the most relevant matchup, but the game between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks (7:30 p.m., League Pass) has quite a few moving parts that are worth watching. Both teams would be included in the playoffs if they started today, but neither team has a firm foothold as the Hawks are in sixth place while the Knicks are in eighth place in the standings. Adding to that bit of intrigue, of course, is that Knicks coach Mike Woodson is returning to his old stomping grounds in Atlanta.

There should be an entertaining game in the Western Conference, too, as the Houston Rockets host the Memphis Grizzlies in a game scheduled for 8 p.m. on League Pass. The Grizzlies are in fifth place in the conference with a 27-21 record, but less than two games separate them and eighth-place Houston -- themselves barely holding on to the conference's final playoff spot that has the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers still hoping for a postseason run.

Remember when we mentioned 12 games are happening on Friday night? In a surprising twist, only three games -- the two games above and the game between the Dallas Mavericks and Orlando Magic -- represent matchups in which both teams are in the playoff hunt. Orlando is all but assured of a postseason berth, but the Mavs are still stuck in the thick of things in the Western Conference ... though a win on Friday night (8 p.m., ESPN) would help them rise in the rankings.

As far as other games are concerned, Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics will visit the Timberwolves with hopes of securing their playoff positioning. It's almost a must-win for Kevin Love and his Minnesota teammates, though, as every game is important for them the rest of the way (and Garnett added a bit of motivation with his comments earlier in the week).

Another game to keep an eye on will be the Milwaukee Bucks' matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bucks are essentially the last team competing for a playoff spot against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference, but a win by Woodson's Knicks and a loss to the lowly Cavs (7:30 p.m., League Pass) would all but put the playoffs out of reach for the Bucks.

The Nuggets are in a similar predicament, as they're currently out of the playoffs due to a tie-breaker scenario with the Rockets despite both teams having a 27-24 record. The Nuggets will look to keep pace with Houston when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats at 7 p.m. in a game that can be found on League Pass.