NBA Playoff Race Update: The Raptors and Celtics Officially Punch Their Tickets

Western Conference - Bubble Teams

(3) Portland Trail Blazers (39-26, 94.5%)
(4) New Orleans Pelicans (38-26, 93.3%)
(5) San Antonio Spurs (37-28, 85.3%)
(6) Minnesota Timberwolves (38-29, 93.2%)
(7) Oklahoma City Thunder (38-29, 89.8%)
(8) Los Angeles Clippers (34-29, 47.6%)
(9) Denver Nuggets (35-30, 37.0%)
(10) Utah Jazz (35-30, 59.1%)

This is where things get interesting.

The 3rd-place Blazers and 10th-place Jazz are separated by a razor-thin four games, which could lead to some very fascinating scenarios down the stretch.

The Blazers and Pelicans would both host playoff series if the postseason started today, as predicted by no one. Just a couple weeks ago, it looked like it would be the Spurs, Timberwolves, and Thunder jockeying for those two spots, but then the Blazers and Pelicans rattled off 8-game and 10-game winning streaks, respectively, to muddy up the situation even further.

When it comes to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, it looks like we're in for a three-team race between the Clippers, Nuggets, and Jazz. All three of those teams are currently tied for the spot, and the different tiebreaker scenarios could get complicated. As the weeks progress, and we get closer to the end of the regular season, we'll attempt to break those down here.