Enormous Consequences is a daily look at the most impactful games in the NBA’s playoff races.
Enormous Consequences: Philadelphia 76ers Could Eliminate Milwaukee Bucks On Monday Night
To be quite honest (and what better way is there to start out the weekend?) this column probably should have been re-titled Moderate Consequences considering the majority of the enormous consequences are already out of the way as the final week of the NBA’s regular season begins.
Strict orders from the higher-ups say that we can’t change the column title now, though, so instead we’ll take an enormous look at Monday night’s slate that features moderate consequences. There are a solid six games on tap, but very few of them look like they’re going to matter as professional basketball heads to the postseason.
The two teams that haven't officially locked up a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference are both in action as the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks try to clinch a postseason berth. The Bucks will be eliminated if they lose to the Toronto Raptors (8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass) to open the week, but even with a win they'll be on razor-thin ice this week.
The only hope for the Bucks, which sit three games behind the Sixers in the race for the East's eighth seed, is to win out while the Sixers go winless the rest of the way. Considering Philadelphia is on the road to play the long-out New Jersey Nets (7:30 ET, NBA League Pass), the Bucks are all but hoping for a miracle ... but hey, it could happen.
There are actually a couple of semi-meaningful games in the Western Conference, though enormous consequences don't await considering both the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs are already securely in the postseason.
The Spurs will play host to the Portland Trail Blazers (8:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass) in hopes of locking up the West's top seed, while the Memphis Grizzlies invite the Cleveland Cavaliers to town (8 p.m ET, NBA TV) in a game that would allow Memphis to further close the one-game gap separating them from the Los Angeles Clippers for the West's fourth seed -- and therefore home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The other two games on Monday night will see the Indiana Pacers play the Detroit Pistons (7 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass) and the Charlotte Bobcats play the Washington Wizards. The former doesn't matter at all, really, while the latter will have enormous consequences ... on how many lottery balls each team gets for this year's draft.
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