With a few games down, the race for 8th in the West is even more crowded

The East is settled, but the West's final playoff spot is still up for grabs.

The NBA restart has been a welcome sight for the basketball-hungry.

Without the pressure of rabid fans barking from the stands, scoring has exploded, contrary to what a four-month hiatus would suggest.

Yes, the basketball is still beautiful. But the on-court artistry is largely meaningless in the scheme of *actual NBA stakes*. Gross!

The Eastern Conference playoff seeds one through eight are practically set in stone: Bucks, Raptors, Celtics, Heat, Pacers, Sixers, Magic, Nets. That exact order might just hold for the rest of the seeding games.

The depleted Wizards have lost their first three bubble games and will likely miss the four-game differential required to force a play-in series. Washington, it appears, is in Orlando simply for a six-week cardio session away from the malaise of being at home.

The Western Conference, however, is a bit more uncertain. The first seven seeds — Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Jazz, Thunder, Mavericks — have a good chance of sticking, with maybe the Rockets and Jazz needlessly swapping seeds despite facing each other in the first round.

The final West playoff spot has not only failed to produce a leader in the pack of the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, and Phoenix Suns, but it has become even more muddied. (The Sacramento Kings are just 3.5 games back, but, you know, the Kings).

Let's take a look at where they stand in the race for the eighth spot, which will all but automatically be decided by a play-in series:

Memphis Grizzlies (32-36)

Remaining Games:

Utah Jazz

Oklahoma City Thunder

Toronto Raptors

Boston Celtics

Milwaukee Bucks

Even with Justise Winslow in the lineup, Memphis was considered an afterthought coming into the seeding games. Yet the Grizzlies still had wiggle room with a three-game cushion as the No. 8 seed. The restart has not been kind, though, with losses to the Trailblazers, Spurs, and Pelicans —  three teams to be briefed on below. Yeah, not great. Now, Jaren Jackson Jr. is out for the rest of the season and the matchups don't get easier in the final stretch. A winless experience in Orlando is realistic.

Jackson looked fantastic on offense prior to a meniscus tear, Ja Morant was as bouncy as usual, and other young guys like Brandon Clarke and Dillon Brooks have not lacked confidence. But there are simply too many forces working against them to stem the bleeding. Barring a surprise in the final five games, it will take either rested starters in their upcoming games or three of the teams below faltering for Memphis to have a shot.

Portland Trailblazers (30-38)

Remaining Games:

Houston Rockets

Denver Nuggets

Los Angeles Clippers

Philadelphia 76ers

Dallas Mavericks

Brooklyn Nets

Portland is in the most liminal spot of any of the No. 8 seed contenders. If the playoffs started today, they would be in the ninth spot in the play-in. Fully healthy with Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins back, the Trailblazers are better than their record indicates. In the bubble, they escaped with a big win over Memphis and lost a heartbreaker to the Celtics. Their remaining games, besides a finale against the Nets, don't offer any favors.

Nurkic's return has been massive. In his first two games, he has posted 18-9-5, and 30-9-5. Portland's weakness at the '5' to start the year was evident, and it is why I listed Nurkic as the team's x-factor. Being able to shift some of Hassan Whiteside's minutes has given the Trailblazers an added scoring weapon down low and spacing for emerging weapons like Gary Trent Jr., another welcome surprise. Of the group of four, Portland should have the mettle to make the play-in tournament with it's dynamic offense.

San Antonio Spurs (29-37)

Remaining Games:

Denver Nuggets

Utah Jazz

New Orleans Pelicans

Houston Rockets

Utah Jazz

San Antonio is so under the radar it is hard to fathom how they are still in playoff contention. And then you realize it is the Spurs and it is the top thing to fathom out of all fathomable things. Wins over the Grizzlies and Kings were necessary. A narrow two-point loss to the Sixers could really hurt. Because, like Memphis, San Antonio has a tough schedule remaining, including a date with the Pelicans that could tip the scales either way.

The Spurs aren't grabbing headlines, but the depth of contribution has been ... Spursian. Demar Derozan has been a steady scoring presence, even hitting his first three since January on Monday. Put away the walker, Rudy Gay has been a bucket, too. Dejounte Murray impressed against the Grizzlies, while Derrick White shined against the Kings. Even Lonnie Walker and Keldon Johnson have played crucial minutes. I want to count out the Spurs because of their schedule and the intrigue of other contenders, but there simply hasn't been a reason to doubt them.

New Orleans Pelicans (29-38)

Remaining Games:

Sacramento Kings

Washington Wizards

San Antonio Spurs

Sacramento Kings

Orlando Magic

The Pelicans far and away have the easiest remaining schedule. The NBA is basically begging on its knees for Zion Williamson to play in the playoffs. Despite being 11th right now, the prospects of a surge into the No. 8 or 9 seed are feasible. A two-point loss to the Jazz to kickoff the NBA restart may come back to bite them, but a soft landing awaits that could continue JJ Redick's playoff streak.

New Orleans's cautious usage of Zion has been worrisome, though. Coach Alvin Gentry was limiting him to about 15 minutes a game, and he was notably absent in the fourth quarter in their loss to Utah. His 25-minute outing in a win over Memphis was encouraging and hopefully suggests greater availability down the stretch. Elsewhere, Redick and Brandon Ingram have been consistent spark plugs offensively, while Jrue Holiday continues his campaign as the most under-appreciated point guard in the league. Holiday's performance on both sides of the ball has been a master class, which is fitting because he has hounded opposing guards like MasterClass has hounded my digital advertisements.

Phoenix Suns (29-39)

Remaining Games:

Indiana Pacers

Miami Heat

Oklahoma City Thunder

Philadelphia 76ers

Dallas Mavericks

The Suns's likelihood of making the playoffs is almost zero, but they have looked mighty impressive — they are the only 3-0 bubble team. Devin Booker has been scintillating in Phoenix's wins, and Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson have played veteran-like defense. NBA Analyst Bobby Marks put it well — winning meaningful games must be doing wonders for Booker's psyche. That statement is even more apt after he hit a gnarly buzzer-beater over Paul George AND Kawhi Leonard to top the Clippers. It's not out of the realm of possibility for the Suns to sneak in to a play-in series. If they can beat the Clippers, they can beat any of their next five opponents. But it's still an uphill battle, and getting close to the playoffs is still a milestone for this franchise.