With Monday’s loss to the red-hot Phoenix Suns, the Thunder have just two contests left before they begin postseason play in Orlando. Billy Donovan’s team will square off against the Miami Heat on Wednesday and the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
Because the league wanted to give itself some wiggle room to determine its schedule in the event the eighth and ninth-seeded teams in either conference needed a play-in game, it refrained from setting a time for the Thunder vs. Clippers matchup.
On Monday, however, the NBA finally set a start time for the contest — 5:30 p.m. CT.
Between now and then, both the Thunder and Clippers will play one game. As mentioned, Oklahoma City will see Jimmy Butler, while the Clippers will do battle with the Denver Nuggets.
Entering play on Aug. 11, there is quite a bit to be determined with respect to the Western Conference playoff picture. Aside from the Lakers being the No. 1 seed in the conference, nothing else is guaranteed.
One thing we do also know, though, is that there will be a play-in series between the eighth and ninth-seeded teams in the Western Conference, but those teams (as well as their ranks) are yet to be ascertained.
Come the final night of the regular season, it is quite possible that the Clippers and Thunder will still be jockeying for playoff seeding — the Clippers could end up the third seed while the Thunder remain in a tight competition with the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks.
So while it’s still a bit early to draw any conclusions, at this point, we at least know what time the Thunder’s final contest of the regular season will begin on Friday. Perhaps by then, we’ll have a better idea of how things are shaping up in the playoff picture.
