How Michael Malone Firing Impacts Western Conference Standings with Playoffs Looming

With less than a week to go in the regular season, the Denver Nuggets made a stunning move, firing their champion head coach, Michael Malone, and general manager, Clavin Booth.

More Nuggets news: Nuggets Shockingly Fire Michael Malone Ahead of Playoffs

It is a shocking move by the Nuggets, who have title aspirations, as they are led by arguably the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic. However, the Nuggets' front office thought it was time for a change, and they wasted no time doing so with less than a week till the end of the regular season.

This move is a bit of a head-scratcher, and it may certainly impact the Western Conference standings. The West is certainly not disappointing, and it is currently a blood bath.

Although the Oklahoma City Thunder have a stranglehold on the No.1 seed in the West, with a 12.5-game lead entering Tuesday, the rest of the conference, especially the No. 3 to No. 8 seeds, is jockeying for playoff seeding.

The Nuggets are in the thick of it, as they are currently the No. 4 seed in the West with a 47-32 record. While that is the case, they could easily drop to as low as the No. 8 seed; however, if they can turn things around, they could go as high as the No. 3 seed.

However, they are not playing their best basketball as things stand. Denver has lost four of its last five games, and with three games left, they have the seventh toughest schedule remaining.

More Nuggets news: Nuggets Release Statement on Firing Michael Malone and Calvin Booth

A lot can and will change in the coming days, especially if the Nuggets continue on this downward spiral.

The only thing keeping them as the No. 4 seed is that they have one more win than the teams behind them: the Los Angeles Clippers, the Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Memphis Grizzlies, who all have a 46-32 record. The Los Angeles Lakers have a 1.5-game lead over the Nuggets for the No. 3 seed.

The dismissal of Malone could prove to be a turning point for the Nuggets—either sparking a resurgence or further unraveling their season. If Denver finds itself in the play-in scenario, their postseason hopes could be cut short as soon as next week. However, should they manage to push through, the path ahead remains challenging, with a potential first-round matchup against one of the top five contenders looming.

Nevertheless, the Nuggets' loss of Malone is significant, and it could help another team get the upper hand in the standings. As for Tuesday, the Nuggets own the tiebreaker over the Warriors, Clippers, and potentially the Grizzlies, while they have a losing record against the Timberwolves.

The Nuggets will take on the Grizzlies on Friday in a game that will hold a ton of weight.

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