NBA Standings Watch: Saturday, April 4

Today’s NBA slate has 10 games.

· Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets

· Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets

· Brooklyn Nets at Atlanta Hawks

· Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons

· Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors

· Washington Wizards at Memphis Grizzlies

· Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks

· Orlando Magic at Milwaukee Bucks

· Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns

· New Orleans Pelicans at Portland Trailblazers

Of these non-Clippers games, the following are of interest for the Western conference standings. I’ve ordered them below for the purposes of interest. I would note that I’ve decided not to include the Phoenix Suns because, barring a complete miracle, they have basically no chance at the playoffs.

Washington Wizards (43-33) at Memphis Grizzlies (52-24)

Time: 5:00 PM PST

Injuries: Tony Allen (Hamstring) is Questionable for Memphis. Garret Temple (hamstring) is expected to return soon for the Wizards, but no timeframe is specified.

Notes: Memphis played a close game against OKC last night, albeit at home. The Wizards also played last night, in DC, but had a cakewalk against the Knicks. Only Bradley Beal played more than 30 minutes. John Wall did have 18 assists. Still, it’s worth noting that Wall’s evolutions as a player has seen his 3 point shooting revert to being crap. After spiking to 35.1% last year, he’s back to 30.4 this year and 30.7 lifetime. He sort of reminds me of Rondo…

Impact: Memphis remains behind Houston for the 2^nd seed even with identical overall records. Memphis has an 8-7 divisional record while Houston has a 7-6 divisional record. Memphis needs to keep winning. Ideally that won’t be the case. Go Wizards.

New  Orleans Pelicans (41-34) at Portland Trailblazers (49-26)

Time: 7:00 PM PST

Injuries: For the Trailblazers, Dorell Wright (hand) is out until at least early May. Wesley Matthews (Achilles) is Out for the Season. For the Pelicans, Jrue Holiday (leg) is expected back soon, but a timeline isn’t known.

Notes: The Pelicans enter on the second game of a back to back on the road. The previous game was supposed to be a cake walk against the Kings, but the game turned out to be close (101-95). Conversely, Portland easily beat the Lakers last night (107-77) in LA. Only Arron Affalo played more than 30 minutes.

Impact: The Pelicans have caught up to OKC in losses and own the tiebreaker. OKC remains ahead of them because they’ve played, and won, one more game. Still, the Pelicans control their own destiny. While no game in Portland is easy, Portland is 5-5 in its last 10 and far from being an intimidating matchup. The Trailblazers are tied with the Clippers in losses and do need to lose to help the Clippers be assured of at least home-court advantage in the first round.

Golden State Warriors (62-13) at Dallas Mavericks (46-30)

Time: 5:30 PM PST

Injuries: For the Warriors, Draymond Green (shin) is Probable. Dallas will be without Chandler Parsons (knee).

Notes: Hate on DJ all one may want for is free throw percentage, Rondo is shooting an absurd 36.2% on FREE THROWS. Yea, and he’s a point guard no less. Go figure. He’s all yours Los Angeles Lakers. Overpay him. Thanks.

Impact: Neither team is going anywhere in the standings. The Warriors wrapped up the Conference and the Mavericks are in their own little world in the 7^th seed. Dallas is 4 games in the loss column away from the teams ahead and behind them in the conference. The only real take away from this matchup of playoff-bound (yea, I’m assuming Dallas is safe) teams is whether Dallas will finally show signs of life. Dallas is 5-5 in their last 10 and has shown nothing to make any Western Conference playoff team fear them.