Apr
12
Playoff Picture: April 12th
By sarahhecht Posted in: playoffs
The 6th seed in the Western Conference is Portland’s to take.
A win tonight in the Rose Garden locks Portland into 6th place to face one of three teams that could land in 3rd. The Los Angeles Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks or the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A loss will see Portland fall to the 7th seed by losing the head-to-head tiebreaker to Memphis.
Now is the time for the Trail Blazers to kick it into high gear. Tonight's game is huge, and a high-pressure win will set the tone for the first round of the playoffs.
How important do you think tonight's game is?
Last night's scores and effects:
The
Utah Jazz defeated the 
New Orleans Hornets 90-78 in New Orleans. The Hornets fell to 8th following their loss to Utah. They trail Memphis by half a game. The loss put the Trail Blazers in the position to clinch the 6th seed with a win tonight.
The
Dallas Mavericks beat the 
Houston Rockets 98-91 in Houston. Dallas claimed the 2nd seed after downing Houston. They lead the Lakers by half a game.
The
Denver Nuggets smashed the 
Golden State Warriors 134-111 in Denver. The Nuggets secured the 5th seed in the West by defeating the Warriors. Denver and San Antonio are the only two Western Conference teams with locked playoff positions.
The
Oklahoma City Thunder downed the 
Sacramento Kings 120-112 in Sacramento. Oklahoma City kept themselves in the 2nd to 4th seed mess with their defeat of Sacramento. Dallas, L.A and OKC are only separated by one full game, their final standings are all up for grabs. The Thunder are still in 4th.
Today’s games with Western Conference playoff teams:
Memphis Grizzlies (46-34) vs. 
Portland Trail Blazers (47-33) The Trail Blazers will clinch the 6th seed in the Western Conference with a win tonight. A loss will tie Portland and Memphis with the Grizz winning the head-to-head tiebreaker 2-1.
San Antonio Spurs (61-19) vs. 
L.A. Lakers (55-25) on TNT The Lakers need to win tonight to regain the 2nd seed. They’ll tie Dallas and win the tiebreaker because they’re division winners.
Here are the playoff match-ups as of today:
(Tables courtesy of NBA.com)