Western Conference playoff seeding could come down to health

With 3:51 remaining in the Warriors' loss to the Bulls Thursday night, Steph Curry exited with an ankle injury. With 3:56 remaining in the Lakers' loss to the Kings that same night, LeBron James headed to the locker room with his own ankle injury. The two teams are even in the standings and it could be physical therapy as much as their play on the court that determines who gets the higher seed.

It's the same story further up in the standings as well. The first-place Minnesota Timberwolves just lost Karl-Anthony Towns for at least a month after he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Minnesota only has a half-game lead on Oklahoma City for the conference's top spot while the fourth-place Clippers are only three games back. At least for now. They will play the rest of the regular season without Russell Westbrook, who fractured his left hand earlier this month.

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is working through his own ankle injury while backup Damion Lee is still recovering from meniscus surgery he underwent five months ago. Bradley Beal is healthy, now, but has missed 29 games with three different injuries this year.

While the New Orleans Pelicans only have Dyson Daniels on their injury report, they still rely on Zion Williamson, who missed 135 games over the previous two seasons. Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks MVP candidate Luka Doncic has a bad ankle and an injured elbow. Dallas also employs the fragile Kyrie Irving.

Only the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are totally healthy, which makes them the favorites to grab the top seed. As for the rest of the playoff positioning, the difference might come down to whirlpool time as much as crunch time.