The Celtics of the “Jays” -Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown- will play against the third in their circuit, Philadelphia 76ers, a highly anticipated match both for the quality of the contenders, and for the fact that a fall by Boston would cause a tied for the top with the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, the three aforementioned teams seem to be on their way to qualifying for the playoffs without problems, while the Cavaliers, Nets and Knicks momentarily close the direct places to that phase, besieged by the Miami Heat.
In the West, the Nuggets are comfortably installed in first place with a six-game advantage over the Grizzlies, whom they are visiting at FedExForum in Memphis.
Everything indicates that the battle for qualifying for the postseason will be tough and tense in this western circuit, since the difference between positions three and 13 in the table is only six and a half games with between 20 and 22 games remaining for each team. In other words: 11 teams still have a real chance of qualifying.
Discarded: San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets in the West, and Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons in the East, the latter circuit in which the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers have a very difficult time, while time is pressing for the Chicago Bulls.
Saturday matches:
— Detroit Pistons vs. Toronto Raptors
— Orlando Magic vs. Indiana Pacers
— Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat
— New York Nicks vs. New Orleans Pelicans
— Memphis Grizzlies vs. Denver Nuggets
— Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
— Utah Jazz vs. San Antonio Spurs
Standings in the Eastern Conference:
.1.- Boston Celtics 43 17 —
.2.- Milwaukee Bucks 42 17 0.5
.3.- Philadelphia 76ers 39 19 3.0
.4.- Cleveland Cavaliers 38 25 6.5
.5.- Brooklyn Nets 34 25 8.5
.6.- New York Knicks 34 27 9.5
.7.- Miami Heat 32 28 11.0
.8.- Atlanta Hawks 30 30 13.0
.9.- Toronto Raptors 29 31 14.0
10.- Washington Wizards 28 31 14.5
11.- Chicago Bulls 27 33 16.0
12.- Indiana Pacers 26 35 17.5
13.- Orlando Magic 25 35 18.0
14.- Charlotte Hornets 18 43 25.5
15.- Detroit Pistons 15 45 28.0
Western Conference:
.1.- Denver Nuggets 42 18 —
.2.- Memphis Grizzlies 35 23 6.0
.3.- Sacramento Kings 34 25 7.5
.4.- Phoenix Suns 33 28 9.5
.5.- Los Angeles Clippers 33 29 10.0
.6.- Dallas Mavericks 32 29 10.5
.7.- Minnesota Timberwolves 31 31 12.0
.8.- New Orleans Pelicans 30 30 12.0
.9.- Golden State Warriors 30 30 12.0
10.- Utah Jazz 30 31 12.5
11.- Oklahoma City Thunder 28 31 13.5
12.- Portland Trail Blazers 28 31 13.5
13.- Los Angeles Lakers 28 32 14.0
14.- San Antonio Spurs 14 46 28.0
15.- Houston Rockets 13 46 28.6
ymr/jcm
