Minnesota has won two out of their three games against Denver this season while Oklahoma City has won four out of their five games against Minnesota so far.
Other key scenarios to watch include who will end up as seeds four through six in the West and how Houston's fate over their final 10 games will impact their chances of making it into the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference standings are close to being set, but things are more jumbled in the Western Conference due to a surging Houston Rockets who have won an 11-game winning streak entering Saturday.
The NBA playoff picture for the 2024 season is coming into focus with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Wolves have a slight advantage on OKC in conference record, but if all three teams finish the season with the same record, the Thunder own that tiebreaker.
The NBA playoff picture for the 2024 season is coming into focus with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Eastern Conference standings are close to being set, but things are more jumbled in the Western Conference due to a surging Houston Rockets who have won an 11-game winning streak entering Saturday. The Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder are currently tied for first place in the Western Conference with records of 51-22 each. Minnesota has won two out of their three games against Denver this season while Oklahoma City has won four out of their five games against Minnesota so far.
The Wolves have a slight advantage on OKC in conference record, but if all three teams finish the season with the same record, the Thunder own that tiebreaker. The Nuggets currently lead and are clinched for home-court advantage in the playoffs. Other key scenarios to watch include who will end up as seeds four through six in the West and how Houston's fate over their final 10 games will impact their chances of making it into the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference standings have been mostly set, with only a few spots left to be determined. The Boston Celtics are currently clinched for the No. 1 seed while Milwaukee and Cleveland are in second and third place respectively.
The Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder are in a tie for first place in the Western Conference with 51-22, 50-22 and 50-22 records respectively.
Minnesota has won two of their three games against Denver this season. Oklahoma City has won four of their five games against Minnesota so far.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing the competition between teams in both conferences. They also use an appeal to authority by citing NBA.com as a source for playoff standings and scenarios.
12-3 MIN vs 12-4 OKC
OKC has the tiebreaker over Denver (3-1 H2H)
Phoenix feels like it will be lucky to stay in the No. 7 spot based on its schedule to close the season.
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Bias
(85%)
The article contains several examples of political bias. The author uses language that dehumanizes and demonizes those who hold different views from him. For example, the phrase 'white supremacists online celebrated' is used to describe people who have a differing view on politics.
dog-whistling to supporters of extremist far-right ideologies and wild conspiracy theories like QAnon
The Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder are in a tie for first place in the Western Conference with 51-22, 50-22 and 50-22 records respectively.
Minnesota has won two of their three games against Denver this season. Oklahoma City has won four of their five games against Minnesota so far.
The Wolves have a slight advantage on OKC in conference record with one game left to play, but the Thunder own that tiebreaker if all three finish with the same record.
Accuracy
If all three teams finish with the same record, Denver would win first place based on their division record. The second tiebreaker is best win percentage among those three teams.
Deception
(80%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it presents the tiebreaker scenario as if all three teams have an equal chance of winning the division title and therefore making it to the playoffs. However, this is not true since Denver has a better record than both Oklahoma City and Minnesota at this point in time.
The article mentions that if all three teams finish with the same record by the end of the season, then they will be tied for first place. However, this is not true since Denver has a better division record than both Oklahoma City and Minnesota as of now.
The article states that all three teams are tied for first place with one game left to play. This implies an equal chance of winning the division title and making it to the playoffs, but as mentioned earlier, Denver has a better record than both Oklahoma City and Minnesota at this point in time.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several logical fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when the authors cite a statement from Glen Taylor without providing any context or evidence for it. This could be seen as an attempt to discredit Taylor's ownership of the Timberwolves, but without further information, it cannot be determined if this claim is true or not.
Glen Taylor released this statement yesterday via Wolves PR,
The bottom of the Western Conference playoffs race is scorching, with eight teams legitimately in play for the last five playoffs spots with 10 games left in the season.
Teams once considered favorites like the Clippers are in danger of sliding down to the play-in, which puts them at risk to miss the playoffs entirely.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author uses sensationalism by stating that eight teams are legitimately in play for the last five playoffs spots with only ten games left in the season.
Andre Snellings states that 'eight teams are legitimately in play for the last five playoffs spots' which is not true. The article does not provide any evidence to support this claim.
Fallacies
(75%)
The article contains several informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that the Clippers were arguably the best team in the NBA when Kawhi Leonard played and then falls into a tailspin even with their best players on court. This is not supported by any evidence presented in the article, making it an informal fallacy.
The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that the Clippers were arguably the best team in the NBA when Kawhi Leonard played.
Bias
(80%)
The author has a clear bias towards the NBA playoffs and teams that are in contention for them. The article is focused on which teams to bet on in the Western Conference playoff race, with no mention of other topics or perspectives.
>From a futures perspective, the race of interest isn't just who makes or misses the playoffs, but also who makes the play-in. The Rockets have won nine straight games to close within a game of the Warriors for that 10th and final play-in slot.
The main question at the time was one of health: Leonard and Paul George both have extensive histories of injury absences, and at the time both had been available to play in most games. The good news, is, both have remained largely healthy and available in the games since.
