NBA: Battle for the West's 8th seed

There are five teams currently battling for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference and despite their youth, the Memphis Grizzlies (32-32) are four games up on their competition. Just behind them are the New Orleans Pelicans (28-36) and Zion Williamson, followed by the scorching-hot Sacramento Kings (28-36), who are each four games back from Memphis. The team who many thought would be a playoff team coming into the season is the Portland Trail Blazers (28-37), who are 4.5 games back. But Damian Lillard is back and healthy, so maybe they’ll make a run at the Grizzlies. Finally, the San Antonio Spurs (26-36) have an outside chance as they’re five games back. With either 17 or 18 games remaining for all of the aforementioned teams, it seems like Memphis will clinch the final spot behind Ja Morant’s 17.6 points and 7.0 assists per game. I project the 9-12 spots will finish as follows: Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Kings, and Spurs. In the end, I think the Pelicans will challenge Memphis but they won’t be able to catch up all the way as the Grizzlies return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Photo Credit: CBS Sports.