Which Teams Only Just Grabbed Their Spot In The Playoffs This Year

If you love basketball then this will be your favorite time of the year. March Madness has just finished and now there is even more basketball to watch in the form of the NBA Playoffs.

This has been one of the most interesting years in Playoff history and we are not even out of the first round yet. No teams from LA have qualified and this is the first year since the tournament started in which neither the Lakers nor the Spurs have qualified.

Today, we’re going to talk about three of the most interesting clinches in this year’s Playoffs and play-ins.

First Team to Clinch – Phoenix Suns

With the way they have played this season, no one was shocked when the Phoenix Suns became the first team to clinch a spot in this year’s Playoffs.

They secured their spot in the conference as their division champions on March 9th.

The Suns dominated their division and much of the Western Conference this year – they ended on a 64-18 win record. Which was the best in the league and 8 wins better than their nearest rivals. This was the first time since 2005 that they were number one in the league.

The Suns have qualified for the Playoffs for a second year in a row after a 10-year drought. This is the first time they have qualified for two consecutive years since 2007.

Last year, the Suns plowed their way through the Playoffs, destroying all the competition in their path. They beat the LA Clippers in the Western Conference Final but went on to lose to the Bucks in the NBA Finals. They lost all three of their games on the road.

Many are predicting that this year’s NBA finals could well be a repeat of last year’s. With the Bucks and the Suns both being favorites to win their Conferences.

As usual, Chris Paul has been a shining star for the Suns again.

He led the league in Assists Per Game, and he also became the 45th highest scoring NBA player of all time. And more impressively, he is now 3rd on the list of All-Time Assists – he took over Steven Nash this season.

Last Team In The Direct Berth – Denver Nuggets

The last team that qualified directly was the Denver Nuggets – who will be playing on the Western side of the draw alongside the Phoenix Suns.

Both teams don’t play in the same division, but if they were to meet on the road to the finals, we would be very interested in watching that grudge match. Our money is on the Suns, they have been incredible this season and they did come top of their division, beating the Nuggets.

The Nuggets are a fascinating team – they have one of the best players in the NBA if not the best player in the league and they don’t seem to be able to capitalize on that.

We are, of course, talking about Nikola Jokic.

Jokic broke multiple records this year and the team only managed a 48-34 winning record. They came second in their division behind the Jazz and 6th overall in the Western Conference table.

If you are looking for a player to round out your Fantasy NBA team, then it would be a good idea to pick Jokic. Find a guide to DFS NBA here.

The Nuggets are yet to win a Western Conference title or an NBA Championship title. Could this be the year for them?

History-Making Year – Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies got their place in the Playoffs this year via the new Play-in tournament.

This tournament was introduced last year while the NBA was in the NBA Bubble. It made it easier to keep players from mixing with too many people.

While qualifying for the Playoffs is not particularly new for the Grizzlies (although the last time they qualified was in 2017), they are having their best-ever season.

For the first time since their formation in 1997, the Grizzlies won their divisional title. There are some Grizzlies fans out there that are hoping that they could make it to their first Conference Final and maybe even their first NBA Finals this year as well.

They came second in the Western Conference table this year and finished with a win-loss ratio of 56-26. There has never been a better year for them to try and win the Playoffs.

If they want to do that then they have some tough competition – most notably the other two teams on this list who are also in the Western Conference with them.

Having a sensational player like Ja Morant on their team opens up a world of possibilities for the Grizzlies. He is in the running for MVP again this year.

They are playing the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the Playoffs. The Timberwolves were the last team to clinch a space in the tournament. The Timberwolves won the first match between the two teams.

But anything can happen in the Playoffs…