San Antonio Spurs Win Again, Move Up NBA Playoff Standings
San Antonio Spurs fans have reason to be pretty excited. The Spurs moved up the NBA playoff standings (again) on Friday night (April 10) with a huge win over the Houston Rockets. Tim Duncan led the Spurs to an impressive 104-103 road victory that helped the team pass the Rockets in the division and conference standings. The remarkable 10-game winning streak that the Spurs have pulled off suddenly has the team in a position to host a first-round series down in Texas.
Coming into the game, the Spurs actually trailed the Rockets by half a game in the Southwest Division standings. With this victory, they swapped spots in the NBA playoff standings, taking over the No. 3 seed, and sending the Rockets down to the No. 6 seed. If the postseason were to begin immediately, the Spurs would actually get to host the first two games of a playoff series against the Rockets. In the updated standings, though, the Spurs could still actually win the division.
With just two games left to play, the 54-26 San Antonio Spurs trail the 54-25 Memphis Grizzlies by just half a game. The Spurs play the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans to wrap up the season while the Grizzlies play the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and Indiana Pacers. To get to the No. 2 seed in the NBA playoff standings, the Spurs basically need the Grizzlies to lose two of their final three games. At the same time, the Spurs have to beat the Suns and Pelicans to make it happen.
Getting to the No. 2 seed would mean that the San Antonio Spurs would play against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs. Getting there would be tough, though, because the Spurs would lose a tie-breaker with the Grizzlies if the teams finished tied. It would come down to best conference record, and that belongs to the Grizzlies. The Spurs did beat the Rockets three times this season, meaning they would win that possible tie-breaker. In order for anything to fall right, the Spurs have to finish off the regular season with a 12-game winning streak.
The Southwest Division is going to come down to the wire, but the three teams still have to worry about the Clippers as well. The Clippers still have a shot to move up to No. 2 in the Western Conference playoff standings. If the Clippers beat the Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, and Suns over the next four days, the team will have a 56-26 overall record. That could get the team a top four seed if they don’t tie with the Spurs. The Spurs also own that tie-breaker due to a regular season series sweep.
As previously reported on the Inquisitr, this San Antonio Spurs roster has the experience to play under pressure, and they are still the defending NBA champions. That makes them a team that no other franchise should want to meet in the 2015 NBA Playoffs.
[Image Source: Chris Covatta/Getty Images]
