The NBA Standings saw movement once again as the Oklahoma City Thunder took over first place following a San Antonio Spurs loss Wednesday night. However, all the headlines focus on the Los Angeles Lakers remaining in the eighth seed. Check out the updated NBA Standings as of Thursday afternoon and what they mean to the 2013 Playoffs.
The Thunder took over first place without even playing a game. The Denver Nuggets handled the Spurs despite trailing for a good chunk of the first half. The Nuggets are once again the hottest team in the Western Conference as they're currently on a five-game winning streak.
How does this affect the playoffs?
The Lakers, who remained in the eighth seed, would have to face the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs and the current seventh seed, the Houston Rockets, would then face the Spurs. Both the Thunder and Spurs should have an easy time in that round as they own the season series 3-1.
Nothing is guaranteed for the Lakers unless they win their next three games. As for the Utah Jazz, who are in the ninth seed waiting for the Lakers to slip, they have an easier schedule than L.A. to close out their season. The Jazz see the Minnesota Timberwolves back-to-back and close out against the Memphis Grizzlies. Two of three will be away from home. For the Lakers, they have three playoff contenders, the Golden State Warriors, Spurs and Rockets. The good thing is that Vino gets to play at home in front of the Staples Center crowd.
Heres what the West looks like right now:
Over in the Eastern Conference, the spot for the fifth seed tightened up following the Atlanta Hawks' victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. This pulls them into a close tie with the Chicago Bulls. They are still the sixth seed, but just by percentage points as the Bulls post a .001 advantage. The Bulls are 42-35 while the Hawks are 43-36. Every game is a must win for both teams if they want to remain where they currently stand.
The implications of movement in this spot?
Well, the Bulls are supposed to play the Brooklyn Nets. However, if the Hawks snatch up the fifth seed, the they play the Nets and it will be doing Brooklyn a favor since they split the series with Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Nets lost their series against the Bulls 1-3. The Bulls would then play the Indiana Pacers and fans would be forced to flashback to the Jordan/Miller days, except these 90's teams would meet for the conference championship.
There's less than a week of regular season left. Look how close the Eastern Conference is.
