1) San Antonio (31-44) and the Lakers (31-44) exchanged spots in the Western Conference play-in race Tuesday, as a result of Los Angeles’ loss in Dallas. The Spurs are now in 10th place, with the Lakers in 11th. Ninth-place New Orleans (32-43) is one game ahead of both teams, owning a tiebreaker on the Lakers, but not over the Spurs.
1b) On Western Conference Wednesday, it’s essentially become a three-team race for the final two play-in tournament spots. Here are relevant games over the rest of Week 24 to track (all New Orleans games will air on Bally Sports and 100.3 FM):
Wednesday
Memphis at San Antonio (31-44), 7:30 p.m.
New Orleans (32-43) at Portland, 9 p.m.
Thursday
LA Lakers (31-44) at Utah, 9 p.m. (TNT)
Friday
Portland at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.
New Orleans at LA Lakers, 9:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Saturday
No relevant games
Sunday
Denver at LA Lakers, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Portland at San Antonio, 6 p.m.
New Orleans at LA Clippers, 8:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
2) CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell will face the team they were traded from in February, as New Orleans visits Portland (27-48) at 9 p.m. Central. Pregame coverage on Bally Sports and 100.3 FM begins at 8:30. Read Tuesday’s injury report for Pelicans-Trail Blazers.
3) Read more about McCollum in this extended profile.
4) Watch Tuesday post-practice interviews with Jose Alvarado, Jonas Valanciunas and Willie Green. Tuesday’s practice report focused on Alvarado signing a multi-year contract.
5) Watch a “24 Seconds” video with Herbert Jones.