Nets Are No. 6 Seed - Warriors Make It To Playoffs While Bulls Fall To No. 5 Seed

The Golden State Warriors grabbed their first playoff spot since 1994 when they beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-98. With this win, the Warriors beat the Clippers to take the No. 8 seed.

Guard Jason Richardson said that he was happy that the fight for the playoff spot was finally over.

However, the Warriors cannot rest as yet as they have to open the playoffs against the best team in the league, the Dallas Mavericks, which is seen as a matchup between coach Don Nelson and his former team.

In another game, the New Jersey Nets beat the Chicago Bulls 106-97, to take the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and this win also ensured that the Bulls do not finish second.

The Nets will take on Toronto Raptors in Toronto in the first game of the postseason. The Raptors are the Atlantic Division champions. Vince Carter will be subjected to a lot of boos each time he touches the ball. Carter played for the Raptors for more than 6 years before he was traded to the Nets in December 2004.

The Raptors are looking forward to taking on Carter and the Nets. Toronto's Chris Bosh, Carter's former team mate, said that he was looking forward to the matchup and was certain that Carter wanted to play in Toronto. Raptors could ask for nothing better than taking on a player who helped to build the team.

If Chicago had won against the New Jersey Nets, there would have been a rematch in between the two teams in the first round. Now the Bulls have fallen to No. 5 seed and will take on the defending champions Miami Heat in the first round.

Clippers Miss The Playoffs

There was so much excitement last season when the Clippers made it to the playoffs. However, this year there was no cause for celebration as the Clippers did not have a second straight postseason appearance.

The Clippers were eliminated from playoff contention after the Golden State Warriors defeated Portland Trail Blazers to clinch the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference. The Warriors won before the Clippers lost 86-83 to New Orleans Hornets.

Clippers star Elton Brand said that he did not want the season to get over for the Clippers and when it did, it really hurt him.

This elimination was worse as the Clippers were considered to be serious contenders for the Pacific Division title and for making consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

Guard Cuttino Mobley said that he was not feeling too good about his team not making it to the playoffs and he expected the feeling to stay with him for a long time.

Earlier in April 2007, the Clippers lost three games on the trot and they knew that they would have win the final five games if they wanted to make it to the playoffs.

The Clippers game from behind with a 10 point deficit to beat the Lakers and they followed it up with a decisive win over Portland what was their fourth game in five nights. But when it came to the Sacramento Kings, they could not muster up a win and it was this loss that did them in.

Brand was disgusted with effort put by his team and criticized some team mates after the game. He said that the team did not come out with the energy required to win the game and he thinks that the Clippers have realized how hard they would have play every single game.

The Kings are the worst team in the Pacific Division and the Clippers trailed by 23 points in the first half against them and by 24 early in the third quarter before finally losing the game 105-100.

The Clippers finished the season with a 40-42 record after they forced Phoenix to a seventh game in the conference semi-finals.

Coach Mike Dunleavy has asked the Clippers players to forget about the draft, free agency and trades, and just concentrate on individual improvement during the summer.