NBA Open Thread - Week 20

It is truly a special time of year. The snow is starting to melt (unless it is still piling up), the ice gives way (or is strengthening evermore), and NBA players are beginning to care about the games they’re participating in (although they may also still be going through the motions depending on where their team is located in each conference’s standings).

Magical.

Both conferences have begun to feature a bit of separation from the pinnacle and the also-rans. As of writing, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are neck and neck for the East’s top seed while the Sixers sit four games back of the duet. Out West, the Denver Nuggets lead the conference and the Memphis Grizzlies are now 5.5 games back in second-place. Seeds 4-13 in the West are a mess — in the East the drama will revolve around the play-in group and just how far the Nets may or may not fall in the standings before the postseason.

In terms of games to watch this week, tonight we’ve Celtics-Knicks which is of interest to our race for the number one seed in the conference. Timberwolves-Clippers is a decent middling Western Conference matchup on Tuesday, Cavs-Celtics on Wednesday catches the eye, and Grizzlies-Nuggets on Friday might offer Denver the chance to lock up the West’s top spot definitively. Suns-Mavs on Sunday is a must-watch for all those interested in determining which franchise is a bigger Loser Fraud.

As usual, follow along in the comments below at your leisure as the week develops!