NBA Playoff Standings 2015: Houston Rockets Racing Toward Western Conference Playoffs


NBA playoff standings for 2015 are getting pretty competitive among teams in the Western Conference. As the 2015 NBA Playoffs draw close, almost every game on the league schedule has become important. As reported by ESPN on Sunday (March 29), the Houston Rockets won an important road game against the Washington Wizards. ABC provided a national broadcast and it showed just how good this Rockets team has become. James Harden scored 25 points, and the team caught the Memphis Grizzlies in the standings.

In the updated Western Conference standings, the Rockets have moved a half-game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies lost on Sunday to the San Antonio Spurs, taking their current losing streak to three games. That allowed the red-hot Rockets, winners of four games in a row, to catch and pass them for the No. 2 seed in the 2015 NBA playoff standings for the West. It drops the Grizzlies to the No. 3 slot for the time being.

Currently, the two hottest teams in the West are the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers. Thanks to a nine-game winning streak, the Warriors have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the NBA playoff standings for the West. The Clippers have won seven straight games and now boast a 49-25 overall record. That has the team as the No. 5 seed in the West, behind the No. 4 seeded Portland Trail Blazers only because the Blazers will win the Northwest Division.

Finishing out the final three spots in the West are the No. 6 San Antonio Spurs, No. 7 Dallas Mavericks, and No. 8 Oklahoma City Thunder. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Kevin Durant has been shut down for the season due to an injury, and it could derail the playoff aspirations for the Thunder. Despite the recent heroics of Russell Westbrook, the team might be in danger of missing the postseason.

In the current NBA playoff standings, Oklahoma City is just two games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans for that final spot in the Western Conference. The Pelicans have won three of the four games in the match-up this season, giving them the tiebreaker should they finish the season with identical records. OKC has a really tough schedule down the stretch as well, with games against the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Blazers, and Spurs coming up.

With just 8-10 games left for teams in the Western Conference, the positioning is very close to being settled. The four teams with the best records from the West in the final NBA playoff standings will also host a first-round series. The first games of the 2015 NBA Playoffs are scheduled for April 18, showing just how little time is left in the regular season.

[Image Source: Scott Halleran/Getty Images]

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