While the Clippers have locked themselves into the no.4 seed in the Western Conference, below them a change has been made: after losing their seventh game in the last ten, the Memphis Grizzlies have (as expected) fallen from the no.5 seed in the West, being usurped by a Portland Trail Blazers team that has won seven of their last ten and two consecutive games.
Here is a look at the current Western Conference Playoff standings and race as of 04/09/2016:
1) Golden State Warriors: 70-9
2) San Antonio Spurs: 65-14
3) Oklahoma City Thunder: 54-25
4) Los Angeles Clippers: 51-28
5) Portland Trail Blazers: 43-37
6) Memphis Grizzlies: 42-37
7) Dallas Mavericks: 41-38
8) Utah Jazz: 39-40
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9) Houston Rockets: 38-41
In their current state, the Grizzlies pose a far easier matchup for the Clippers in the 4-5 series than a Portland Trail Blazers that can light it up from behind the arch and is led by a superstar point guard (Lillard), a blossoming sidekick (McCollum), and a number of other interesting pieces (Davis, Aminu, etc.