Winning the Pacific Division will guarantee the Clippers a top four seed but you can throw the seedings out the window if a lower-seeded team finishes with a better record than the Clippers. The team with the better record would capture home-court advantage in any round. So for example in a possible 4-5 match-up, the Grizzlies and Nuggets would have homecourt as the five seed if they finish with a better record.
Though the Clippers have always said they are only focusing on the here and now, with 17 games left in the season, the focus has to shift toward the playoffs and getting the best seed and matchup possible.
It’s only a matter of time before the Clippers capture their first division title and win 50 or more games in a season for the first time in franchise history. But it will be all for naught if they sputter down the stretch and are forced to open the playoffs on the road against Memphis or Denver.
They’d probably like to avoid Memphis and Denver altogether and try to face a team such as Houston, which has lost all three games against the Clippers this season.
— Reported by Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles
