Playoff Eliminations

This is an exciting time to watch the NBA. The regular season ends on April 26th and teams are picking up their intensity in an effort to make the playoffs. With just three weeks remaining, only three teams have clinched playoff berths and only three have been eliminated so there is still a wide open field where anything can happen.

Chicago, Miami, and Oklahoma City are already in and unless Indiana, Orlando, Boston, and Atlanta lose all the rest of their games, they should qualify soon too.

The Western Conference is particularly intense right now and too close to call. Memphis, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Utah, Phoenix, Portland, and Minnesota are all fighting for the last 4 spots and these teams are all within 5 games of each other.

Since the playoff race is so close, teams have to adopt a must win mentality and play with greater intensity if they are going to make it. Sometimes professional players have a reputation for going through the motions and not playing with as much heart as those at the collegiate level, but we should have a chance to see some intense games as they finish out an already short season.