San Antonio Spurs: Injuries causing playoff pain

Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz

For me, the Clippers are out of contention for the playoffs. Their schedule is tough and they will probably only win eight of their last 20. This will give them a 42-40 record — four games behind where the Spurs should finish.

The Utah Jazz, on the other hand, are about to make a push for a middle seeding. They also have 18 games left like the Spurs. However, unlike the Spurs, the Jazz are probably going to win a majority of their games.

The Jazz play the Warriors twice, the Celtics and Trail Blazers once. Apart from those four games, the other 14 are against top contending teams. They face the Grizzlies and Lakers twice, as well as games against the Mavericks, Kings, Clippers, Pistons and Suns.

The Jazz should be able to win 14 of their last 18, which will give them a 48-44 record to finish just behind the Thunder and Timberwolves. If this happens, the San Antonio Spurs will be pushed down into ninth in the West and out of the playoffs.

This will be in spite of another winning season under arguably the best coach ever to have walked the sidelines of an NBA court.

Next: 2018 NBA Draft - Early March Mock Draft

However, if they were in the Eastern Conference, the Spurs would be safely in the playoffs. One thing is for sure, the San Antonio Spurs franchise will not go down without a fight, so the next 18 games will be good viewing.