A look at where things stand in the NBA playoff picture
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EAST UPDATE
The top two seeds are locked up: Toronto is No. 1 going into the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and Boston will open the playoffs as the No. 2 seed.
Everything else is unclear.
Philadelphia (49-30) now leads in the race for the No. 3 spot, passing Cleveland (49-31) by beating the Cavaliers 132-130 on Friday night. The 76ers, who haven’t been a top-three seed in the East since their run to the NBA Finals in 2001, would finish third if they end the season with wins against Dallas, Atlanta and Milwaukee.
The Cavaliers have two games left, both against New York. So if Philly slips even once, Cleveland could return to No. 3 by sweeping the Knicks.
Indiana (47-33) still has a chance at No. 3; to get there, the Pacers have to win out and have both the Cavaliers and 76ers lose out. That seems unlikely, and Indiana is probably heading for the No. 5 spot.
Miami, even after a bad loss in New York
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WEST UPDATE
Five days left, five spots left to clinch, and six seeds left to decide.
A frantic finish is coming to the West.
Portland controls the race for the No. 3 seed, and Utah knows that if it wins out the worst it can finish is No. 4 – which is astounding, considering it got off to a 19-28 start and was 10 games out of the fourth spot.
New Orleans (45-34) beat Phoenix to jump two spots to No. 5, and Minnesota (45-35) topped the Los Angeles Lakers to remain a half-game ahead of Denver for No. 8. Those two results mean four teams have exactly 45 wins going into Saturday, with Denver currently at 44 wins and the Los Angeles Clippers still able to get to 45 if they win out.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES
Some clarity might … finally … come to the West.
– Denver at L.A. Clippers: The Clippers have to win out, or the season ends. Denver must try to match that desperation.
– Milwaukee at New York: Milwaukee is 10-12 since the All-Star break. Some momentum might help the playoff cause.
– Oklahoma City at Houston: Means nothing to Rockets. Means plenty to Thunder, who still could get home-court.
– New Orleans at Golden State: The Warriors embarrassed themselves at Indiana on Thursday. Will this be more of the same?
– Portland at San Antonio: The Spurs are trying for a 21st consecutive playoff spot
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– Brooklyn at Chicago has no playoff implication.
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CURRENT BRACKET
First-round matchups if the season ended Friday …
East: 1-Toronto vs. 8-Washington, 2-Boston vs. 7-Milwaukee, 3-Philadelphia vs. 6-Miami, 4-Cleveland vs. 5-Indiana.
West: 1-Houston vs. 8-Minnesota, 2-Golden State vs. 7-Oklahoma City, 3-Portland vs. 6-San Antonio, 4-Utah vs. 5-New Orleans.
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NOTE OF THE DAY
Philadelphia has a chance to set an NBA record – the longest winning streak to end a regular season.
The 76ers have won 13 straight and have three games left. Win them all, and they would top the 15-game season-ending stretch by the Rochester Royals in 1949-50.
The last double-digit streak to end a season was posted by San Antonio in 2011-12, when the Spurs won their final 10 games. Philly coach Brett Brown was an assistant under Gregg Popovich on that Spurs team.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
”You’ve got to go through whoever it is anyway.” – Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue, asked about the Eastern Conference seeding jumble.
The former girlfriend of Reuben Foster testified at a preliminary hearing Thursday that she lied to police when she said the San Francisco 49ers linebacker attacked her, allegations that led to a domestic violence case against him.
Elissa Ennis testified she lied because she wanted retribution after Foster tried to end their relationship
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Foster was arrested after Ennis told police he dragged her by her hair, physically threw her out of their house, and punched her in the head eight to 10 times in February. He has been charged with domestic violence with an allegation that he inflicted great bodily injury, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime, and possession of an assault weapon. Foster pleaded not guilty last week.
Ennis subsequently issued a statement through her attorney saying her injuries, including a ruptured eardrum, were the result of a fight with another woman.
Prosecutors have said they will continue to pursue the case even if Ennis does not cooperate with the investigation. The prosecution said Ennis’ testimony couldn’t be trusted given inconsistencies throughout.
Judge Nona Klippen said she will rule Wednesday on whether the case should continue to trial.
Ennis, who testified against the advice of her attorney
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She said Foster broke up with her after she got into the fight with another woman during a road rage incident in San Francisco. A 22-second video clip of that fight was presented as evidence in the case.
Ennis said she initially wanted to sue Foster. ”It was all about the money,” she said.
Ennis also testified that she stole more than $8,000 in cash from Foster, two Rolex watches and designer clothing.
During cross examination by Foster’s attorney Joshua Bentley, Ennis said she went to jail in 2011 for falsely accusing an ex-boyfriend of domestic violence.
If convicted of all charges, Foster could face up to 11 years in prison. Foster remains a member of the 49ers although the team hasn’t allowed him to participate in the offseason program while his case is ongoing.
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