Pour one out for the 2013-2014 Phoenix Suns, who had a hell of a season and won’t make the playoffs. They could have put a scare into the Spurs or Thunder, and they’re the reason NBA commissioner Adam Silver was talking about changing the playoff format a few days ago. Phoenix lost to the Grizzlies on Monday, two days after losing to the Mavericks. As nuts as this race at the bottom of the conference has been, it’s a shame that a team had to miss out.
NBA playoff standings 2014: Grizzlies in, Suns out, Pacers No. 1
The Grizzlies locked up a playoff berth on Monday, and the Pacers locked up the top spot in the East. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns sadly won’t make the postseason.
Christian Petersen
NBA Power Rankings
The Rockets clinched home-court advantage against the Blazers on Monday with a 104-98 win over San Antonio. Marco Belinelli, Damion James and Aron Baynes started for the Spurs. Damion James plays for the Spurs.
Dallas and Memphis will play for the seventh seed on Wednesday, which is pretty cool. Loser gets the Spurs, but hey, maybe the Grizzlies want the Spurs. Memphis did upset them as an eighth seed in 2010-2011.
Here’s a look at the West playoff standings (x - clinched playoff berth, y - clinched division, z - clinched conference):
| W | L | GB | |
| 1. z - San Antonio Spurs | 62 | 19 | - |
| 2. y - Oklahoma City Thunder | 58 | 23 | 4 |
| 3. y - Los Angeles Clippers | 56 | 24 | 5.5 |
| 4. x - Houston Rockets | 54 | 27 | 8 |
| 5. x - Portland Trail Blazers | 53 | 28 | 9 |
| 6. x - Golden State Warriors | 50 | 31 | 12 |
| 7. x - Dallas Mavericks | 49 | 32 | 13 |
| 8. x - Memphis Grizzlies | 49 | 32 | 13 |
The Pacers locked up the No. 1 spot they'd been angling for all season on Monday, though it might be more accurate to say the Heat conceded it. Knowing that all Indiana had to do was beat the Magic on Wednesday to clinch it, the Heat rested LeBron James and Chris Bosh in Washington and lost by 21.
This means the Pacers will play the Hawks in the opening round, which is the only Eastern Conference matchup officially locked up with two nights left in the regular season. The Heat will face either the Bobcats or Wizards, but it’ll probably be the Bobcats. The Wizards will only face Miami if Charlotte beats Chicago and Washington loses to Boston on Wednesday.
If the Raptors beat the Knicks on Wednesday, they will secure the third spot. New York actually has quite a bit of influence on playoff seedings despite being eliminated the other night, as the Knicks will face the Nets on TNT on Tuesday. If Brooklyn loses that one and also drops its regular-season finale in Cleveland, then Washington can still reach the fifth spot with a win over the Celtics.
Here’s a look at the East playoff standings (x - clinched playoff berth, y - clinched division, z - clinched conference):
| W | L | GB | |
| 1. z - Indiana Pacers | 55 | 26 | - |
| 2. y - Miami Heat | 54 | 27 | 1 |
| 3. y - Toronto Raptors | 48 | 33 | 7 |
| 4. x - Chicago Bulls | 48 | 33 | 7 |
| 5. x - Brooklyn Nets | 44 | 36 | 10.5 |
| 6. x - Washington Wizards | 43 | 38 | 12 |
| 7. x - Charlotte Bobcats | 42 | 39 | 13 |
| 8. x - Atlanta Hawks | 37 | 44 | 18 |
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