The West playoff picture gets spicier every day

PLUS: lots of highlights from a busy NBA weekend.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

A Day in Mongolia: Summer; Marzan Sharav; 1911-13

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And now for a brief update on the important postseason races.

EAST 4-5-6

The Bucks locked in their tiebreaker against the Pacers over the weekend, but the teams are tied at 29 losses so Indiana has a clear path to home court in the first round. The Pistons are two losses back but definitely in the mix. Reminder: the Bucks are up 2-0 on Detroit in the season series and Indiana has claimed the season series from the Pistons.

The Bucks are headed to the West. This week they visit Golden State, the Lakers and Sacramento. The Pacers visit Minnesota and then host the Mavericks and Nets twice. The Pistons are on the road visiting New Orleans, Miami and Dallas before hosting the Pelicans. This is all to say Milwaukee has its work cut out to stay in the No. 4 slot this week.

WEST 2-3-4-5

This intriguing race is as close as ever. The Rockets, Grizzlies and Nuggets are perfectly tied at 43-25. The Lakers also have 25 losses, but with just 41 wins. Houston over Memphis is the only settled tiebreaker.

The Rockets have warm-ups against the Sixers and at Orlando and Miami before a Sunday showdown against the Nuggets. Houston can claim that season series with a win. The Grizzlies is out West, visiting the Kings, Blazers and Clippers this week. The Nuggets have a challenging week: at Golden State, at the Lakers (with a chance to claim the season series), at Portland, at Houston. The Lakers are at home all week, hosting the Spurs, Nuggets, Bucks and Bulls.

Every game matters in this race, although frankly every first round series might be a war.

WEST 6-7-8-9-10

This race has changed dramatically since I set the table just two weeks ago. Why? Neither Golden State or Minnesota have lost since then. Also, Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL the same day I published the playoff lookahead, which opened the door for Phoenix. Also, the Kings have gone 1-5 since then. So this is really two races now: 6-7-8 and 9-10.

Golden State has 28 losses, Minnesota has 29 and the Clippers have 30. The Warriors have the tiebreaker over the Wolves, the Clippers have the tiebreaker over the Warriors and the Wolves have the tiebreaker over the Clippers. It’s a mess. This week, the Warriors host the Nuggets, Bucks and Raptors before visiting Atlanta to start their final long road trip of the season. The Wolves host the Pacers and the Pelicans twice. The Clippers are going to have fun: they host the Cavaliers, Grizzlies and Thunder. (Oof.)

The Kings are at 33 losses, have the tiebreaker over Dallas and guaranteed at least a season split with Phoenix. They host the Grizzlies, Cavaliers, Bulls and Bucks this week. So probably 1-3, possibly 0-4, maaaaaybe 2-2. The Mavericks are one injury away from forfeiting games, have 36 losses and neither tiebreaker. Though it doesn’t seem to matter, they visit the Pacers and host the Pistons this week. The Suns are at 37 losses and host the Raptors, Bulls and Cavaliers this week.

EAST 7-8-9

I really am not yet intrigued by the race, except insomuch as the Hawks and Magic might be more frightening to the Cavaliers than any other East team but Boston, and the Hawks or Magic could very well end up No. 8. Also, Miami is crashing out: they’ve lost seven straight.