Though the NBA regular season wraps up April 9, there’s still plenty to be decided by Sunday night. Before we get into those remaining questions, here’s some of what’s been finalized:

Nine of the 12 guaranteed playoff spots have been clinched
Five teams have clinched home court advantage in the first round
The top three teams in the draft lottery have also been finalized, with the Pistons, Spurs and Rockets set to each receive a 14% chance of being awarded the No. 1 pick

The bottom half of the postseason picture remains up in the air, though. The most significant races left to be decided concern the play-in tournament, particularly in the Western Conference, where nine teams have yet to have their playoff fates decided. The East is more solidified, with only seeding left to be determined.

The most interesting team to watch is the Mavericks. After Luka Dončić willed Dallas to an (admittedly underwhelming) conference finals appearance last season, the Mavs face an uphill battle just to qualify for the first round. They’re currently in 11th place in the West, needing to make up ground over their last three games just to sneak into the play-in tournament. Although, they might not even be all that interested in trying to do that. Dallas is reportedly considering shutting down Dončić and Kyrie Irving for the rest of the season and taking its chances in the draft lottery.

As Chris Herring wrote last week, the pairing of Dončić and Irving has been a disaster thus far. The Mavs are 9–16 since trading for Irving and 4–11 in games where both have played. Dallas needed to find another player who could create his own shot to take some pressure off Dončić after deciding to let Jalen Brunson sign with the Knicks last offseason. Irving hasn’t been the solution to that problem. Maybe a lottery pick is just what the Mavs need.

The team clinging on to the final play-in spot ahead of the Mavs is the Thunder. Oklahoma City was expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this season but has been able to hover around .500 thanks to breakout seasons from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and rookie Jalen Williams. When 2022 No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren is ready to make his debut next season after recovering from a foot injury, the Thunder should be able to take an even bigger step forward. But OKC also has an opportunity to give fans something to cheer about right now. While last night’s loss to the Warriors means OKC can finish no higher than 10th, anything can happen in the play-in tournament. If the Thunder can hold off the Mavs, they’ll have a chance to play their way into the first round and host their first playoff game since ’19.

Because the play-in is so unpredictable, several teams in the West are still sweating out the final week of the season as they wait to see whether they’ll get a guaranteed spot in the first round or have to survive the play-in to earn it. The fifth-place Warriors and ninth-place Timberwolves are separated by just two games in the standings, with the Clippers, Lakers and Pelicans in between (in descending order). The Lakers and Clippers play tonight in a pivotal game that could end up deciding which of them winds up in the play-in. The two L.A. clubs are tied in the standings, but the Clippers hold the tiebreaker.

There are numerous ways everything could play out between now and Sunday, including the possibility (albeit extremely slim) that either the Lakers, Clippers or Warriors could overtake the Suns for fourth place and end up hosting a first-round series. It’s going to be a chaotic five days.

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The best of Sports Illustrated

Alex Gould/The Republic/USA TODAY Network

The allegations against Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill are all too familiar to those who follow the NFL, Conor Orr writes.
With the Colts likely to take a quarterback in this month’s draft, Albert Breer explains the strategy behind their unusual scouting approach.
Conor Orr explains what Lamar Jackson’s contract fight will mean for the next crop of quarterback extensions.
The Knicks’ best player is out injured with the playoffs fast approaching, but Chris Herring argues Julius Randle’s sprained ankle is helping show how deep the team’s roster is—and that bodes well for the postseason.
Dave Meltzer has a good rundown of WWE and UFC’s shared history and how that led to this week’s stunning merger.
Mark Bechtel reviews the new movie Air, which is about Nike’s pursuit of Michael Jordan.
Caitlin Clark was quick to put the silly Angel Reese controversy to bed.
The Texans are reportedly hoping to draft either Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud at No. 2 later this month.
Manny Machado became the first player ejected for arguing a pitch clock violation.
As the NBA regular season winds down, ticket prices are surging, with seats for Friday’s Lakers-Suns matchup going for an average price of $1,500, per SI Tickets.

The top five...

… defensive plays in baseball yesterday:

5. Riley Greene’s diving catch in center.

4. Luis Castillo’s no-look snag on a comebacker.

3. Will Benson’s leaping catch in foul territory.

2. Diamondbacks outfielder Jake McCarthy’s catch while flipping over a wall in foul territory.

1. Pirates rookie Ji Hwan Bae’s leaping catch against the Green Monster.

SIQ

The Washington Nationals played their first game 18 years ago this week. Who started the first game for the newly relocated franchise?

Tomo Ohka
Liván Hernández
Esteban Loiaza
John Patterson

Yesterday’s SIQ: Which MLB player, who had hit just three home runs the year before, hit three home runs on Opening Day 1994 off Mets starter Dwight Gooden?

Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes
Pete Incaviglia
Royce Clayton
Terry McGriff

Answer: Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes. He had played 107 games in the majors over four seasons to that point and hit a grand total of five home runs. In 15 games for the Cubs in 1993, he had three homers. But Rhodes won the center field job in spring training before the ’94 season and was batting leadoff in Chicago’s Opening Day game against the Mets at Wrigley Field.

The little-known Rhodes proceeded to homer in three straight plate appearances against Mets starter Dwight Gooden—in the first, third and fifth innings. (Rhodes was such an obscure figure that Cubs reliever Dan Plesac later told Marquee Sports Network, “I didn’t even know who Tuffy Rhodes was, and he was on my team.”) Gooden was due to face Rhodes again in the sixth, but Mets manager Dallas Green pulled him. Rhodes instead worked a walk against Eric Hillman. He later picked up a single off New York closer John Franco to put a bow on his 4-for-4 day. Despite Rhodes’s big day at the plate, the Cubs lost, 12–8.

Gooden’s rough outing was a sign of things to come. He recorded a 6.31 ERA over seven starts before he was suspended in late June for a positive cocaine test. (After a second positive test, he was suspended for the entire 1995 season.)

Rhodes’s big day was not a sign of things to come for him, though—at least not in this country. He lost the starting center field job in mid-June to Glenallen Hill, and, after spending most of the 1995 season with the Red Sox’ Triple A affiliate, Rhodes signed with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan. He went on to become one of NPB’s best foreign-born hitters over a 13-year career in Japan. In 2001, he tied Sadaharu Oh’s single-season NPB record with 55 home runs in 140 games. Over the course of his career in Japan, he hit 464 homers, compared to just 13 in the majors.

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