NBA Weekly Recap: March 27 - April 2
The NBA regular season is winding down and the playoffs are right around the corner, but there is still a lot happening in the NBA.
Kevin Durant made his return from injury this week and led the Phoenix Suns to their fourth straight victory on Friday, taking down the Denver Nuggets 100-93.
Durant led all scorers with 30 points, looking stellar in just his second game back.
The Nuggets remain the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, where they have been for the majority of the season, but their lead is shrinking.
The Memphis Grizzlies are right on their tail, only two games behind in the standings, and they are gaining momentum.
Ja Morant returned from his suspension on March 22, and the Grizzlies are 4-1 in the games he has played since then.
With only one week left of the regular season, it’ll be interesting to see whether these teams start to rest their starters or if they fight for the one seed.
There is a similar situation in the Eastern Conference as the Boston Celtics are now just a game and a half behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the first seed.
The Celtics dominated the Bucks on Thursday, winning by 41 points.
The two squared off in the playoffs last season, and the series went to seven games, so home-court advantage could be vital.
Each team is 7-3 in their last 10 games, and the race for the East will likely come down to the final remaining games of the season.
As teams fight at the top of the league, there are also teams duking it out at the bottom of the league to tank for the best draft pick possible.
The Portland Trail Blazers essentially gave up, announcing that Damian Lillard will not play for the rest of the season.
Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkić are all dealing with minor injuries and may end up also sitting out the last few games.
The Washington Wizards are also sliding down the standings, which will most likely continue as Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis continue to miss time.
The bottom three teams are the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
They have secured the worst three records in the league and will go into the draft lottery with equal odds of the No. 1 overall pick.
There are still plenty of teams still fighting to keep their playoff chances alive, including the struggling Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks are 7-11 since acquiring Kyrie Irving and the team has fallen out of the play-in spot.
They trail the Oklahoma City Thunder by a game for the No. 10 seed, and even if they can claw their way back into the play-in game, they’ll have to win two straight games to even make the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Clippers are the sixth seed, but Paul Geroge will miss at least the rest of the regular season with a sprained knee.
The New York Knicks will also be missing one of their stars as Julius Randle will be re-evaluated in two weeks due to an ankle sprain.
Christopher Reynolds is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at clr5971@psu.edu.
