Projecting the NBA Western Conference playoffs seeds
Earlier this week, I took a look at predicting the seeding of the 8 teams in the Eastern Conference. It was a little easier to narrow the seeding down in the East because I didn't see the Detroit Pistons or Charlotte Hornets moving into the top 8.
In the Western Conference, it's a little tougher as there are ten teams within reach of the playoff picture. Just 4.5 games separate the 3rd placed Portland Trail Blazers and the 8th placed Minnesota Timberwolves.
Who's out: Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets
The two teams who are currently on the outside looking in as of March 18th are going to be the two teams that will miss the playoffs as well. Going into this week, the Denver Nuggets were only 1.5 games back of 8th seed Minnesota, and the Los Angeles Clippers were 2 games back.
The problem for both of these teams is the fact that they both have long road trips to close out the month of March. The Nuggets are a terrible 11-23 on the road; while the Clippers have a more respectable 17-17 record.
If the Clippers were already in the top 8, I might consider them over Minnesota, but later on, in this article, you'll see why I have the Timberwolves in the playoffs.