The NBA stretch run has arrived. Entering Monday, only 9% of the regular season remains to be played. The five teams in each conference that won’t be going to the…<\/p>\n
The NBA stretch run has arrived.<\/p>\n
Going into Monday, there are only 111 games left in the season \u2014 or put another way, 91% of the regular season has already been played. The postseason (not playoff) teams are set: Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington, Brooklyn and Indiana have all been eliminated from the Eastern Conference race while Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento are out of the Western Conference race.<\/p>\n
That means, for 20 other teams, the next two weeks are basically all about playoff positioning.<\/p>\n
Detroit, Boston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio have playoff spots secured (and it would seem mathematically certain that New York, Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver will be clinching before too long, with Houston and Minnesota not far behind).<\/p>\n
Portland and Golden State are locked into the play-in tournament.<\/p>\n
\nMonday’s games <\/p>\n
\u2014 Philadelphia at Miami: Winner gets the head-to-head tiebreaker. It could also be former Heat guard Kyle Lowry’s final appearance in Miami as a player. Heat coming off a frustrating loss in Indiana on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Boston at Atlanta: Rematch of a seven-point Celtics win on Friday. Boston is already at 50 wins, Hawks have won 12 in a row at home and 15 of 17 overall.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Phoenix at Memphis: Suns face uphill climb to escape play-in, can\u2019t lose here.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Chicago at San Antonio: Spurs have gone 24-2 since Feb. 1, chasing No. 1 overall seed.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Minnesota at Dallas: Wolves looking for 4-0 sweep of season series; won first three meetings by double digits.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Cleveland at Utah: Jazz won first meeting; they\u2019ve only swept Indiana this season.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Detroit at Oklahoma City: A matchup of potential No. 1 seeds. Pistons could be first team to sweep Thunder in last two seasons.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Washington at L.A. Lakers: Lakers\u2019 Luka Doncic (16 technical foul limit) suspended for this one.<\/p>\n
\nTuesday’s games <\/p>\n
\u2014 Phoenix at Orlando: A back-to-back for Suns, start of a tough home back-to-back for Magic.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Charlotte at Brooklyn: One of only two games left for Hornets against eliminated teams.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Dallas at Milwaukee: Matchup of teams officially playing out the string.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Toronto at Detroit: After this, the Pistons have only two home games left in regular season.<\/p>\n
\u2014 New York at Houston: Rockets blew 18-point fourth-quarter lead versus Knicks on Feb. 21.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Cleveland at L.A. Lakers: LeBron James is 35-19 against his former teams (19-6 vs. Cavs, 16-13 vs. Heat, including playoffs).<\/p>\n
\u2014 Portland at L.A. Clippers: Major play-in seeding implications for teams looking to avoid 9 vs. 10 game.<\/p>\n
\nNational TV schedule <\/p>\n
Monday’s games on Peacock and NBC Sports Network: Philadelphia-Miami and Detroit-Oklahoma City. (Chicago-San Antonio is a Peacock game as well.)<\/p>\n
Tuesday’s games on NBC and Peacock: New York-Houston and Portland-L.A. Clippers.<\/p>\n
\nBetting odds <\/p>\n
Oklahoma City (+140) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+550), Boston (+600), Cleveland (+900), Denver (+1100) and New York (+1500). Detroit, on its way to the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2500.<\/p>\n
\nKey dates <\/p>\n
\u2014 April 10: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.<\/p>\n
\u2014 April 12: All 30 teams play their regular season finales.<\/p>\n
\u2014 April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.<\/p>\n
\u2014 April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.<\/p>\n
\u2014 May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.<\/p>\n
\u2014 May 10: NBA draft lottery.<\/p>\n
\u2014 May 10-17: NBA draft combine.<\/p>\n
\u2014 May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.<\/p>\n
\u2014 May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n
\u2014 June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).<\/p>\n
\nNumbers watch <\/p>\n
After three such games on Sunday, there have been 81 games decided by at least 30 points this season. The record was 80, set last season.<\/p>\n
\nStat of the day <\/p>\n
Toronto beat Orlando 139-87 on Sunday. The 52-point win was the second-biggest victory in Raptors history, the biggest loss in Magic history \u2014 and included a 31-0 run that took just 7 1\/2 minutes and saw Orlando go 0-for-8 with 11 turnovers.<\/p>\n