Matchups with playoff seeding ramifications make their way to your TV screens this Friday. It’s easy to get lost in all the talk about the play-in tournament and the postseason, but here are two games you can focus on.
The best of the East Philadelphia 76ers visit last year’s conference champions Miami Heat, 10:00 AM (same day telecast) on NBA TV Philippines. And in the West, the second-seed Phoenix Suns host the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers, 10:00 AM on One Sports.
The Sixers (47-22) will have an opportunity to claim the number one seed in the East with a win over the Heat. They missed their chance in their last game on Wednesday, losing to the Indiana Pacers, which also saw their eight-game winning streak halted.
"We just have to bounce back," said Tobias Harris as the Sixers were outscored and outplayed by the Pacers in the fourth period. "Obviously this is a terrible loss for us. It's a game that we had, but we lost our composure throughout the fourth quarter, which can't happen for a team striving to be how good we want to be."
As the Sixers fumbled against the Pacers, the Heat (38-31) were able to clinch a playoff spot on the same game day after besting East rival Boston Celtics. Though assured of a postseason berth, last year’s finalists are still in the thick of things in the standings with the Atlanta Hawks (39-31) and New York Knicks (38-31).
The Heat own the tiebreaker against the Knicks, who clinched a playoff spot after another Celtics loss, but the Hawks have the edge over them.
"We're trending in the right direction," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "Guys are feeling good about where we are going, but that doesn't guarantee anything on a night-to-night basis."
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers (41-29) are making a late-season surge, winning five straight games. Their latest victim was none other than the league-leading Utah Jazz.
The duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 56 points to come out with a 105-98 victory at the Vivint Arena where the Jazz have the best home record with 31 wins. Portland now sits at fifth place in the West tied with the Dallas Mavericks (41-29).
Lillard and McCollum will have to keep their guns locked and ready as they will try to outshoot the Suns next. Phoenix is second in the West with a 48-21 record.
But the Suns were recently stunned by the playoff-seeking Golden State Warriors. Prior to that, they were also humbled by the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers. That’s two teams with worse records getting the better of the Suns.
''It was a tough one, you never want to lose two in a row,'’ Devin Booker said, but he remains undeterred. ''I'm not concerned at all.’’
The Suns have two regular-season games remaining after they take on the Blazers, meeting the San Antonio Spurs in a back-to-back. On the other hand, the Blazers will have to through the Denver Nuggets to further improve their chances of getting into the playoffs.
The postseason picture in both conferences continues to take shape and the games tomorrow will have a significant impact.
Exciting games with crucial playoff seeding implications are coming your way as the regular season winds down.
