It’s been one week since the NBA resumed operations from the short All-Star break. Teams are now focused on finishing strong by the end of the regular season, hoping to secure a playoff spot or a spot in the Play-In Tournament.
Having that in mind, here are the teams competing on Friday in hopes of improving their record and climbing the ladder.
All NBA Games on Friday, Feb. 27
Looking at the Western Conference so far, the OKC Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers have a better chance of skipping the Play-In Tournament and going straight to the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference’s top six teams feature the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers.
With the clock winding down, teams have only a few opportunities left to shake things up in the conference standings.
Here are the teams competing on Friday, Feb. 27, that are looking to climb up the ranks:
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons – 7 p.m. ET live on NBA League Pass and Disney+
- Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics – 7:30 p.m. ET live on NBA League Pass
- New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks – 8 p.m. ET live on NBA League Pass and TV
- Memphis Grizzlies vs. Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 p.m. ET live on NBA League Pass
- Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – 9:30 p.m. ET live on NBA League Pass and Disney+
Two of the most must-see games on Friday will be the Cavaliers vs. the Pistons and the Nuggets vs. the Thunder. This is simply because it’ll be the battle of the elites.
OKC and Detroit are currently leading their respective conferences. However, Denver and Cleveland are also two of the top teams in their respective conferences. It’ll be interesting to see if the Nuggets and Cavaliers can take down the kings of their conference.
Looking at the Western Conference standings, if the Nuggets end up beating the Thunder on Friday, they are likely to overtake the Houston Rockets in third place. Denver currently has a 37-22 record, while Houston has a 37-21 record.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland’s standing will depend entirely on how the Knicks perform against the Bucks. If the Cavs beat the Pistons with the Knicks losing to the Bucks, Cleveland will take third place from New York. However, if both teams win or lose their games, the standings will remain the same, leaving the Cavs in fourth and the Knicks in third.
