Final Day Of NBA Season Will Decide Some Seeds, Matchups
By The Associated Press
There will be final-night intrigue in the NBA.
The two remaining playoff berths will be decided, along with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the site for Game 1 of the series that starts this weekend between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers.
Most individual stat races are already sewn up, barring something that would be most improbable. Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook will become the 16th player in NBA history to win two scoring titles, Houston's James Harden will lead the league in assists for the first time and Miami's Hassan Whiteside should be able to wrap up his first rebounding crown.
Golden State's Stephen Curry is a lock to lead the league in 3-pointers made for the fifth straight year, and his Warriors teammate Klay Thompson will finish second in that category for the fourth consecutive season.
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TOP OF THE EAST
Boston controls the race for the top seed in the East playoffs.
The Celtics will be No. 1 in the East if they beat Milwaukee, or if Cleveland loses to Toronto. The Cavaliers won't have LeBron James on Wednesday night, and are 0-7 this season when he doesn't play.
Depending on perspective, James will either be resting, recovering or revving for the start of the playoffs. It's part of his usual playoff preparedness, since he hasn't appeared in a regular-season finale in a decade.
Cleveland can still be No. 1 with a win and a Boston loss.
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BOTTOM OF THE EAST
Dwyane Wade helped Miami win three championships.
Now, he might help keep the Heat out of the playoffs.
It's three teams — Indiana, Chicago and Miami — for the last two spots in the East field. Indiana (which plays Atlanta) and Chicago (which plays Brooklyn) control their destinies.
If the Pacers win, they're in. If the Bulls win, they're in. If either loses, the door opens for Miami.
The Heat would reach the playoffs with a win over Washington, and a loss by either Indiana or Chicago.
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EAST MATCHUPS
The 1-8 and 2-7 matchups in the East cannot be finalized until Wednesday.
Toronto is the No. 3 seed and will face either Milwaukee or Indiana. Washington is the No. 4 seed and will open the playoffs against either Atlanta or Milwaukee.
Everything else is still up in the air. Depending on results Tuesday and Wednesday, any of four teams — Indiana, Atlanta, Chicago or Miami — could wind up getting the No. 7 spot. And the Pacers might be No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 or out of the playoffs entirely at No. 9.
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CLIPPERS-JAZZ
Utah hasn't started the playoffs at home since 2001.
The Jazz could change that this year, if they beat San Antonio on Wednesday while the Clippers lose at home to Sacramento. That's the only scenario where the Jazz would be seeded No. 4 in the Western Conference playoffs.
Otherwise, the Clippers will get home-court for the first-round series against Utah.
All the other seeds and matchups out West for the first round are set: No. 1 Golden State vs. No. 8 Portland, No. 2 San Antonio vs. No. 7 Memphis, and No. 3 Houston vs. No. 6 Oklahoma City.
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