Five biggest remaining games of the NBA season

With the regular season coming to a close, the top seeds in each conference are set, while the middle of the Western Conference is in upheaval. Here are the five biggest remaining games for playoff seeding and positioning.

Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings | Wednesday, April 9

The Nuggets just fired their coach and general manager after a four-game losing streak. The Kings have a three-game winning streak and Zach LaVine has 80 points in his last two games. Denver is tied with four other teams at 47-32 and likely needs to win out to secure home-court advantage in the first round, while the Kings need two wins to lock up home-court in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in game.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies | Thursday, April 10

The Timberwolves blew a 24-point lead against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday, putting them a game behind their rivals in 8th place. The Grizzlies own the tiebreaker by winning the season series, so a loss Thursday puts Minnesota two games back of Memphis and likely sends them into the play-in. There's extra drama because Anthony Edwards and Ja Morant dueled in an intense first-round series three seasons ago.

Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons | Friday, April 11

The Bucks are in fifth place with a one-game lead over the 43-36 Pistons, but the two teams play each other both Friday and Sunday. Detroit needs to win both games in order to pass the Bucks on tiebreakers, regardless of what happens when they play the New York Knicks on Thursday.

The game might matter more to the Bucks, who would prefer to avoid the Knicks, who swept them in the regular season. If Milwaukee finishes fifth, they'll get the Indiana Pacers, who the Bucks beat three times.

Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets | Friday, April 11

Both of these teams fired their head coaches late in the season, and both teams may be missing starters to injury. Jaylen Wells broke his wrist Tuesday, while Denver's Jamal Murray has been out for two weeks with a hamstring strain. Neither team is safe from dropping into the play-in tournament.

Memphis and Denver met twice in three days in November and will meet one final time five months later. This game might mean a lot for seeding and for the roster decisions of both teams this summer. 

Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors | Sunday, April 13

These teams have identical records, and the Clippers have won the season series already. The Warriors face two lottery-bound teams this week and the Clippers face the Houston Rockets, who have clinched the No. 2 seed, and the Kings, who could clinch No. 9 before they play L.A. The relatively easy schedules mean this game could determine who finishes fourth and gets home-court in the first round.

James Harden is 0-4 against Stephen Curry in the playoffs, while Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell stopped the Warriors' quest for a three-peat in the 2019 Finals. They'd like nothing better than to knock each other back in the standings.