NBA
Getting the 5th vs. 7th Seed in the West Makes ALL the Difference
The battle between Dallas, Portland, and Lakers for the 5th through 7th positions in the West are heating up, and it makes ALL the difference
Kelvin Kuo/AP Images
Coming into Friday night’s matchups, the five through seven spots in the Western Conference were all within a game of each other. All three teams (Dallas, LA Lakers, Portland) were in action during the evening. Entering the night, the order was Mavs, Lakers, Blazers. Dallas won to stay in fifth, but Lillard’s team took on the Lake show and came out victorious behind 38 points from Dame Time, which bumped them to sixth and sent the Lebron-less Lakers to seventh.
GETTING THE 5TH VS. 7TH SEED IN THE WEST MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
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Given the new postseason format this season due to COVID, the difference between sixth and seventh place is a whole lot greater. The team who finishes in seventh will be forced to participate in a play-in tournament to even get into the actual playoff field. If this squad loses two games in a row, their entire season is over. This seems a bit harsh, but it was put in place to give more teams an opportunity due to the NBA cutting 10 games this year from 82 to 72.
Finishing in fifth place in the West this year makes a team’s life a whole lot easier. This position would likely match up with Denver, who recently lost star player Jamal Murray. They are now considered to be one of, if not the weakest team in the Western Conference playoff field without their clutch playmaker. Essentially, the difference between fifth and seventh this season is the opportunity to have a favorable first-round matchup versus being two games away from elimination. Every game matters for these three teams down the stretch with the 5th seed vs. 7th seed making ALL the difference.
Dame scores 38 PTS on just 18 shot attempts! 🤯
The @trailblazers move into sole possession of the No. 6 seed out West. #RipCity pic.twitter.com/dI9yhZtxHm
— NBA (@NBA) May 8, 2021
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