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Even at this late stage of the NBA season, 24 of the 30 fan bases are still living in hope that their team could be lifting the trophy.
The introduction of the play-in tournament to decide the final two teams in each conference three years ago has created false hope.
A team like Washington, which has a woeful 32-41 record heading into their final nine games is still a chance of snaring the 10th and final spot in the Eastern Conference.
Even though the Wizards are 12th (aka, fourth-worst) in the East, they are 2.5 games back from Chicago, who would claim the final play-in berth if the standings don’t change in the final few weeks.
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It’s a system that rewards mediocrity but also keeps the fans engaged for longer during the season, creates content with the NBA media abuzz about who’ll fill the final two slots in each conference.
Damian Lillard drives to the net against OG. Anunoby. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
And that’s why the NBA sees it as a success and a system that’s here to stay even if the likes of LeBron James are against it.
Based on the evidence thus far, commonsense and the bookmakers’ odds, any team that advances to seventh or eighth in the West or East is in the vast majority of cases going to be cannon fodder for a team ranked in the top two of the conference.
The race for the West is much more of a logjam with only two games separating the sixth-placed Golden State (38-36) – after their crucial 127-125 win over the Mavericks on Thursday – and New Orleans (35-37) in 12th with Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Dallas, the Lakers and Utah in between.
Of these seven teams, only the Warriors could be considered a realistic championship hope even though they have been up and down all season.
Golden State’s path to an unlikely title defence just got a little easier with the LA Clippers losing star forward Paul George to a knee injury for at least three weeks.
They are half a game behind the Clips (38-35) and even Phoenix (38-34) in fourth are no guarantee to keep the Warriors at bay to retain home-court advantage in the first round.
Denver are looking shaky at the top, and Sacramento and Memphis are inexperienced so the Warriors – and Suns when Kevin Durant returns from his ankle problem – have the firepower to make a run to the finals from fourth.
In the East it’s a similar situation except Milwaukee in first place are as solid as a rock. Their main rivals Boston and Philadelphia have question marks over them while Cleveland and New York are rising but not legit contenders.
Of the seven teams fighting out the final three spots, Miami are the only side with any playoff pedigree but the Heat’s hot-and-cold performances add up to a lukewarm forecast.
No matter what happens in the final stretch and the play-in or playoffs, Josh Giddey’s Oklahoma City Thunder have exceeded expectations on their trajectory to becoming a legit finals team.
In a season when they were expected to at the very least lean towards tanking after their No.2 overall pick Chet Holmgren was ruled out for the entire campaign with a foot injury, OKC have refused to throw in the towel.
They’ve gone on a late 8-2 surge to remove any inkling that they’re deliberately trying to boost their draft lottery odds and have risen to eighth in the West at 36-36, ahead of the star-studded Mavericks and Lakers.
Josh Giddey dunks. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
The key to their chances is an LA swing on Friday and Saturday – if they can beat the injury-hit Clippers and LeBronless Lakers, they have three sub-500 opponents on the schedule in the tanking Hornets and Pistons in OKC followed by a trip to Indiana.
Their final four games on the sched are Western playoff hopefuls in Phoenix, Golden State, Utah and Memphis but strange things can happen in the last week of the regular season, especially if seedings are locked up and coaches give their stars a rest before the playoffs.
Destiny is in the young squad’s hands and with star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a lock for All-NBA selection, they are well placed in the next few years to become a lower-profile version of the Durant-Harden-Westbrook side which went to the finals a decade ago.
If Holmgren lives up to the hype surrounding the lanky prospect, the Thunder have the building blocks in place where they don’t have to rely on free agency where they have little hope of attracting marquee names or even trades for the small-market side to become a behemoth.