April 10--With three games remaining in the regular season, the Clippers could end up anywhere from the second seed to the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
They have no idea who they're going to play against, or whether they will have home-court advantage.
"It's crazy," Blake Griffin said. "I've had some close, tight races down the stretch, but never like this. There's so many scenarios, that's the crazy part."
The Clippers (53-26) and the San Antonio Spurs (53-26) are tied for fifth place, but both teams are only half a game behind the Memphis Grizzlies (53-25) and Houston Rockets (53-25), who are tied for second place.
The Golden State Warriors (64-15) have locked down the top seed, and the Portland Trail Blazers (51-28) are guaranteed a top-four seed by virtue of winning their division. Other than that, the Western Conference is pretty much up in the air.
"It shows how competitive the West is," Jamal Crawford said. "It shows how good the West is, and how much parity there is in the NBA. In three days the match-ups could change five times. It's unbelievable, it really is. I think it will be a fun playoffs."
Griffin said there's one team the Clippers would like to avoid playing in the first round, if possible -- the San Antonio Spurs, who won the championship last season.
"You probably never want to play the Spurs in the first round if you have a choice," he said. "The Spurs are playing their best basketball, like they normally tend to do."
Then again, so are the Clippers.
The Clippers have won four games in a row, and 11 of their last 12, losing only to the Warriors during that stretch.
Griffin said the Clippers have what he described as a "business atmosphere" heading into their final three games of the season, which includes a game against Memphis on Saturday evening at Staples Center.
But he also acknowledged that even if the Clippers win all of their upcoming games, nothing is guaranteed in the tumultuous Western Conference.
"Everything is changing," he said. "It's not like if we do this, we get this."
