On the precipice of the playoffs, how do the four NBA play-in teams competing today stack up against the rest of the league?
The Athletic‘s Law Murray ranked the NBA teams 1-30 after the final day of the NBA regular season and had this to say about the teams facing off today:
- 13. Charlotte Hornets (44-38)
Overall, a triumphant run for the Hornets. And they were great defensively, performing at a top level while defending without fouling. But Charlotte had some tough losses that locked it into a 9-10 game. The Hornets need a strong week to snap the longest playoff drought of any East team.
- 14. Portland Trail Blazers (42-40)
The best defense in the NBA over the last quarter of the season was in Portland, and it was anchored by sophomore center Donovan Clingan (2.4 blocks per game since March 8). Portland won the big games it needed to secure two chances to end a four-year playoff drought. Portland is also getting healthier, with Jerami Grant the only player left to return following recent appearances from Shaedon Sharpe and Vit Krejci.
The Suns exceeded all reasonable expectations, and they’ve held seventh place every day since Jan. 23. Now, they have to show that their offense can come through against the Trail Blazers to earn a meeting with the Spurs. The Suns split their final 20 games but finished with a top-10 defense that featured the kind of ballhawking that would be critical against Portland in particular.
Here are the ranks of the Heat defense over the quarters of the season: fourth, 14th, fifth, 26th. While the Heat finished with a winning record and led the league in pace, they struggled mightily to maintain that advantage for themselves. Miami survived the Play-In as the 10th seed last year, but it played two teams that also had losing records. The Heat split their final 20 games, the only East Play-In team that didn’t win more than half of their final 20 games.