NBA Playoff Picture: Blazers will face Grizzlies in play-in series; Suns eliminated despite finishing 8-0

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A wild race for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot will come down to the Blazers and Grizzlies, who both took care of their business on Thursday with wins over the Nets and Bucks, respectively. The Grizzlies cruised past Milwaukee, but the Blazers had to pull out yet another heart-stopper as Brooklyn’s Caris LeVert missed a potential game-winning step-back as time expired. 

The Suns, meanwhile, finished their seeding games 8-0 with a win over Dallas, but their hole coming into the bubble was just barely too big to crawl out from, and they’ll head back to the desert, despite being the only undefeated team at Walt Disney World. San Antonio was eliminated once Memphis and Phoenix both won, making their loss to Utah a moot point. 

There will be lots of clamoring about the validity of a bubble that doesn’t reward a team that went undefeated, but we know this was an extension of the regular season. The Suns earned the 39 losses they entered Orlando with the same as they earned the eight wins inside. To me, this bubble experience was about entertainment. The race for the play-in series made these games so exciting, and it is through that prism that I believe one more game between Phoenix and Memphis for the right to play Portland would be in keeping with the spirit of this restart. But these eight games were a great run either way. 

So now the top-seeded Lakers sit back and wait to see who their opponent will be in the 1-8 matchup. All other matchups are set. Here’s a look at the standings with one more day of seeding games (again, no matchups can change) to go. 

Western Conference

1. Lakers

52-19 (–)

vs. Blazers/Grizzlies

2. Clippers

48-23 (–)

vs. Mavericks

3. Nuggets

46-26 (–)

vs. Jazz

4. Thunder (can still flip seeds with Houston)

44-27 (–)

vs. Rockets

5. Rockets (can still flip seeds with Oklahoma City)

44-27 (–)

vs. Thunder

6. Jazz

44-28 (–)

vs. Nuggets

7. Mavericks

43-32 (–)

vs. Clippers

8. Blazers

35-39 (–)

vs. Grizzlies (Play-in)

9. Grizzlies

34-39 (–)

vs. Blazers (Play-in)

To be clear on the Houston-OKC situation, yes, they can technically flip spots if OKC loses on Friday and Houston wins, but it doesn’t matter. They’re going to play each other either way and home-court advantage obviously isn’t a factor. 

As for the play-in series between Portland and Memphis, it’s simple: The Blazers, as the higher seed, only have to beat the Grizzlies once to secure the final payoff spot, while the Grizzlies have to beat Portland twice. Game 1 of that series is set for Saturday at 2:30 ET. 

Eastern Conference

1. Bucks

56-17

vs. Magic

2. Raptors

52-19

vs. Nets

3. Celtics

48-24

vs. 76ers

4. Heat

44-28

vs. Pacers

5. Pacers

44-28

vs. Heat

6. 76ers

42-30

vs. Celtics

7. Nets

35-37

vs. Raptors

8. Magic

32-40

vs. Bucks

The Eastern Conference matchups are locked in.