That's because Denver will play six road games (out of eight left) and need to visit the LA Lakers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers and host the Brooklyn Nets. In terms of the remainder of their schedule, the Denver Nuggets have a tougher run-in than LAC. The LA Clippers follow closely with a 43-22 record, but Tyronn Lue's men have lost three games on the bounce, which includes a 1-2 mini-series loss against Nikola Jokic and company. Mike Malone's team are the hottest in the NBA at the moment they are on a five-game win streak and have gone 9-1 in their last ten outings. The prize for avoiding the LA Lakers could be either Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers or Luka Doncic and his Dallas Mavericks.ĭenver are currently third in the West with a 43-21 season record. Of course, there is no easy way for either the Denver Nuggets or the LA Clippers to try and avoid the LA Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
#Nba conference standings series#
But starting the NBA Playoffs with a series that could easily be the Western Conference Finals might leave the winning team exhausted physically and mentally and hinder their hopes of going all the way. Granted, both Denver and the LA Clippers would be ready to take on such a challenge. As things stand today, the third-seeded Denver Nuggets would face the sixth-seeded LA Lakers, the reigning champions, in the first round of the 2020-21 NBA postseason. Of course, it is unlikely that Denver or LAC would get past Phoenix and Utah. Right behind the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, the Denver Nuggets and the LA Clippers are fighting closely for the third spot in the West.īoth teams also have a small chance of grabbing the top seed or at least enter the Top 2, as the Nuggets are three games behind the leading duo, and LAC are only half a game behind Denver.
The Denver Nuggets could rattle the LA Clippers a little earlier this year Nikola Jokic (#15) of the Denver Nuggets shoots over Ivica Zubac (#40) of the LA Clippers. Nevertheless, considering the Phoenix Suns' better recent form, Devin Booker and company should be able to take the NBA's top seed in the West.
Their matchup against the Denver Nuggets will be the toughest in their remaining schedule, which also includes a visit to San Francisco and playing the Portland Trail Blazers at home.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz will play five of their remaining eight games at home. In their last eight games, they play six matches on the road (Cleveland, Atlanta, LA Lakers, Golden State Warriors and two visits to San Antonio). The Suns have a slightly more difficult schedule than the Utah Jazz in the remainder of the 2020-21 NBA season. However, the battle for the top spot in the West could be decided by the two teams' head-to-head battle, where the Phoenix Suns dominated the Utah Jazz 3-0. Meanwhile, for the Utah Jazz, consistency has not been a problem after they went 15-5 between December and January. Since their loss to the OKC Thunder at home in January, the Suns have had 38 wins and only ten losses, which is a W/L record six games better than that of any other team in the league the Denver Nuggets and Utah Nazz follow next with 32-14. The Suns just won in Oklahoma City for the first time since 2010!Phoenix snapped a 16-game losing streak in OKC.