It’s a little odd to have all 20 NBA postseason spots locked up this far in advance of the start of the playoffs, but that’s where we are this season. With that, there are no playoff scenarios that can be locked up with the games on Monday night — but there are some games worth checking out that can influence the ultimate standings.
Games to Watch
New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock
With four games left in the season, the No. 3-seeded Knicks need wins to hold off a hot Cavaliers team that is just one game back in the East. Atlanta sits as the No. 5 seed, two games up on Philadelphia and Toronto, who are tied for 6/7, but the Hawks have the second-toughest remaining schedule in the league. The Hawks need to find wins this week to avoid falling back a spot in the East because if they do, they get these very Knicks in the first round.
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Philadelphia 76ers at San Antonio Spurs, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass
Joel Embiid vs. Victor Wembanyama is reason enough to tune into this one. The Spurs are locked in as the No. 2 seed in the West, despite going 9-1 in their last 10 they made up no ground on the Thunder, who went 9-1 as well (San Antonio’s OT loss to Nikola Jokic and Denver could have been a second-round playoff preview and I will take seven games of that, please).
Philadelphia should play desperately — it needs the win. The 76ers are tied with Toronto for the 6/7 seed, but red-hot Charlotte is just half a game back of both of them, and Orlando is one game back (but stumbling). If Embiid and the 76ers want to avoid the play-in and a brutal first-round matchup against either Boston or Detroit, they need wins. But can it get one against the Spurs?
Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET, League Pass
Two teams headed to the postseason — Portland to the play-in, Denver straight to the playoffs — face off in a game both teams could use for seeding. The Nuggets are currently tied with the banged-up Lakers for the No. 3 seed (with the Rockets just one game back in fifth). Denver is in a good spot to finish third in the West (setting up a likely second-round showdown with San Antonio, a team it just beat in OT), but it needs to win games like this one.
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Portland and the LA Clippers are tied for the 8/9 spots in the West play-in, but there is a big advantage in being eighth (eight needs to win one of two games to get into the playoffs, nine needs to win two consecutive games to get in). The Clippers and Trail Blazers face off in a huge game Friday, but both teams need all the wins they can get before (and after) that date to secure the higher seed.
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