Race to the Playoffs




The NSL enters the final push of the regular season, with teams falling into one of a few tiers of teams. Of the thirty NSL franchises, teams fall into one of the following: contenders, playoffs, ‘On the Bubble’ or ‘wake me when the draft is here’.

Today, we will be focusing on the teams who aren’t guaranteed to be in the playoffs but are doing all they can to try and secure the last few spots in both the Eastern and Western conferences. As this category of has the most deviation (e.g. missing the playoffs is a lot different to making them, whereas tanking teams will get some form of decent draft pick regardless of specific position) and allows for arguably the most interesting analysis.


‘On the Bubble’ in the Eastern Conference: Washington, Charlotte, Orlando and Brooklyn.

Just to clarify, the Philadelphia 76ers sit in 7^th and could easily belong is this crop of teams but it is of the writer’s opinion that they have done enough to be a lock with just a month to go. Well done, Nenjabin, on steering the ship away from the cliff.

With the rest of the teams, what a sad playoff race it is. At the time of writing, over the past ten games for the teams, their combined records are 10-30, which would be good for the second worst winning percentage in the league when looking at the standings.

Brooklyn have been as bad as any team over the past few months. Breece is my guy, so I am not loading up on him, but the facts are the facts. Their personnel have avoided serious injury this season but nagging and untimely injuries have seen their form drop significantly. Walker or Drummond missing a week usually means a lot of losses, and at this point, I have to question whether the Nets are trying to win any games.

Washington could have easily been a top six team this season if GM Joshua saw it so. Their form over the year has been pretty consistent, middling as a .500 team or thereabouts. They have talent and are right on the cusp of their top play, Devin Booker, realising his talent and despite having a top center injured for the entire season, they have still won 30 games with guys like Dean Gray starting. Booker needs to get some playoff experience, so the Wizards are looking to press on and clinch a berth.

Charlotte are the team I am rooting for, with their star young player Luka Doncic knocking on the door of the truly elite tier of players in the league. Their secondary star in Caris Levert has shut down any doubts of his brutal leg break ruining his career with blistering NBA form. I have no idea what Nick’s goal is because he scarcely adds more than a couple of words to the forums each week but I like to believe that the Hornets can be the Cinderella Story team in the playoffs.

Orlando suck, just ask their beloved GM gc6. Their latest trade is a monumental manoeuvre philosophically, with their injured, 30+ and entirely established star in KD being moved for the youth of Young and Wiggins. They have a very raw roster and it would be very surprising if they are able to not only find chemistry over these remaining few weeks, but finding a level of it that allows them to win more games than the aforementioned teams.

Verdict: I don’t think Brooklyn can remedy the freefall. I rate Gavin as a GM and if he says they stink, I believe him. I think the final spot comes down to the Wizards and the Hornets, with the Hornets having one of the most difficult final months of the season for any team.

Congratulations on making the playoffs, Washington.





‘On the Bubble’ in the Western Conference: Dallas, Memphis, Utah and Oklahoma City.

I love what Dallas is doing, taking two of the glitchiest players in the league and uniting them. Next season they will do damage. However, Durant isn’t going to play this season and his team is not built to do well this season with questionable depth. Wildcard GM Javi/Maverick seems to have kicked his trading habits to the curb, showing a more restrained side during his NSL tenure. Dallas currently occupies the 8^th slot by 1.5 games over ninth.

Memphis seems to either be really good or really bad. Injuries have hit them really hard this season, with their squad easily one of the most impacted by DNPs. They have almost all of their key contributors back, and with a fairly average remaining schedule, they arguably more poised than any other of these teams to stack up more wins than losses. Gasol, Jackson Jr, Brown, White and Smart is a really good lineup.

Utah’s season copped body blows before games even started, with cornerstone Demarcus Cousins and important vet Darren Collison both being out for the season for incredibly different reasons. They have made plenty of moves and fought throughout the season, with their recent form over the last ten at .700 winning percentage. However, their schedule strength for the remaining games is extremely tough and I’m not sure they can get enough wins when they face ten playoff teams.

OKC lost something in the ‘win now’ column when they moved their best player in Middleton, and whatever momentum they did possess on the court, it seems to have now dissipated. There’s no doubt they added great assets and depth, but the fruition of these investments projects to come at a later date than right now. Besides Hayward, they are a young team with an ascending trajectory in the future. Easiest schedule strength won’t be enough for them to close the gap.


Verdict: OKC have the easiest run home in terms of schedule strength, but I just don’t think they have the juice of continuity to cause any headaches. Next comes New Orleans Scrappers, who despite possessing talent, are still too undeveloped to run up any line of form beyond a couple of games. Dallas and Memphis have similar remaining schedule strengths, and with the latest aforementioned trade from the Mavs, and despite their wretched run with injury, I can see the Grizzlies securing the last spot.

Congratulations on making the playoffs, Memphis.