Here is where the teams contending for the 8th seed out west stand. As of now, the Grizzlies are 3 games up on the Trail Blazers. The Blazers have a half-game lead over the tenth place Pelicans with the Spurs, Suns, and Kings both within a game and a half of the Pels.
With a little more than a quarter of the season left, the playoff race will come down to the way the contending teams manage their schedule and injuries and even more specifically: which team will get hot at the right time.
Let’s break down each team’s case in the race for the eighth seed.