Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers (40-20) have 22 games left in the regular season. Ahead of their game against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday at Staples Center, the fourth-place Clippers are one game behind third-place Oklahoma City (42-20) in the Western Conference standings.
Where the Clippers finish in the standings will determine who they play in the first round of the playoffs. The second round as well, for that matter. For example, if the season ended today, the Clippers would play fifth-seeded Memphis in the first round and Golden State in the second.
If the Clippers were to finish third, that would mean they would almost assuredly miss Golden State in the second round and instead play San Antonio, unless the second-place Spurs find a way to catch the first-place Warriors. Golden State currently holds a lead of 3 1/2 games over San Antonio.
To Clippers point guard Chris Paul, it doesn’t help pondering what might happen in six weeks when the playoffs begin.
“No, no, no,” Paul said, when asked if he cares who his team plays in the first two rounds. “Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you think or what you hope is going to happen. It’s going to fall the way it wants to.”