April 5th Playoff Picture

There were two games last night that were of interest for the Clippers’ playoff picture.

Milwaukee Bucks (79) at Oklahoma City Thunder (110)

Russell Westbrook collected another triple double with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists and the Thunder won comfortably to remain two games back of the Clippers in the loss column (the Clippers have played one more game overall). The Thunder however must play their next four games on the road (@Memphis, @Phoenix, @Denver, and @Minnesota) before wrapping the season up at home against Denver. So odds remain favorable that the Clippers will not fall to the sixth seed.

Portland Trail Blazers (87) at Utah Jazz (106)

Damian Lillard shot a terrible 5 of 20 from the field (and 2 of 7 from behind the arc) and the Trail Blazers lost a game in the midst of their own playoff race (as the Denver Nuggets won their game last night). The Jazz meanwhile remained one game ahead of the Clippers in wins/losses. This is important because the Clippers own the season series and playoff tiebreaker against the Jazz (3-1). The Jazz may have a tough remaining schedule - home against Minnesota, @Portland, @Golden State, and at home against San Antonio - but it honestly remains to be seen how serious the Warriors and Spurs will take their last few games of the year as their seeds are essentially set.

In the end nothing significantly changed for the Clippers’ playoff picture. Gaps in seeding were not widened and nothing developed to suggest that the Clippers cannot secure the fourth overall seed and home court advantage for the first round. As the regular season comes to a close, the Clippers will need to continue hitting their stride to secure the fourth seed and demonstrate that they are capable of being a dangerous team in the playoffs.