Utah Jazz

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Red-letter dates remaining: April 8 road game at New Orleans and April 16 road game at San Antonio.

Strongest recent statement: A 110-92 road win against the Celtics on March 14.

Uh-oh factor: Will Mehmet Okur's outside shooting be sharp enough to be a factor?

Toughest playoff matchup would be ... Houston. The Rockets will have learned lessons from last season's first-round elimination at the hands of the Jazz.

Best guess on playoff placement: Northwest Division champion, No. 4 seed and first-round meeting with Suns.

Phoenix Suns

Red-letter dates remaining: Back-to-back road games at San Antonio and Houston on April 9 and 11.

Strongest recent statement: Gutsy 94-87 home win against the Spurs on March 9 that followed four losses in five games. Then again, that was a while ago.

Uh-oh factor: Will they miss Shawn Marion's perimeter defense against players like Bryant, Paul, Parker, Ginobili and Williams?

Toughest playoff matchup would be ... Spurs. True, the Suns have lost all four to the Hornets this season, but defending against Duncan and running the offense with Bruce Bowen guarding Steve Nash have always been difficult for the Suns.

Best guess on playoff placement: Pacific runner-up, No. 5 seed and first-round meeting with Utah.

Houston Rockets

Red-letter dates remaining: Wearying five-game road swing that begins Sunday in San Antonio.

Strongest recent statement: Beating Golden State 109-106 on March 21 in Oakland after the bloom had come off the 22-game winning streak.

Uh-oh factor: Did the Rockets exhaust their ammo during the streak?

Toughest playoff matchup would be ... Spurs. The Rockets have played their Texas rivals well this season, but give Gregg Popovich extended time to stop Tracy McGrady, and it's all over.

Best guess on playoff placement: Southwest third-place finisher, No. 6 seed and first-round meeting with Spurs.

Golden State Warriors

Red-letter dates remaining: Four-game road swing (beginning April 1) with stops in San Antonio, Dallas and New Orleans.

Strongest recent statement: That road win against the Lakers. (It's been a rather easy month.)

Uh-oh factor: They can surprise, but do they have enough inside for the long haul?

Toughest playoff matchup would be ... Jazz. The Warriors are 0-3 against Utah this season (including two games when Stephen Jackson was serving a suspension), after losing a second-round series to the Jazz last spring.

Best guess on placement: Pacific third-place finisher, No. 7 seed and first-round meeting with Hornets.

Dallas Mavericks

Red-letter dates remaining: Well, all of them, but season-ending home game against Hornets could decide playoff fate.

Strongest recent statement: There haven't been any.

Uh-oh factor: Besides the obvious question about Dirk Nowitzki's availability, can Jason Kidd provide some signs of life as the Mavs fight to stay in the top eight?

Toughest playoff matchup would be ... All of them, considering they've yet to beat a winning team with Kidd.

Best guess on playoff placement: Fourth-place finisher in the Southwest, and I give them a 50-50 chance of holding on to the No. 8 seed and earning a first-round meeting with the Lakers.

Denver Nuggets

Red-letter dates remaining: Thursday's home game against Dallas begins a Mavs-Warriors-Suns-Suns quadruple.

Strongest recent statement: We're going back in time, but consecutive home wins over Phoenix and San Antonio in early March.

Uh-oh factor: Will their always questionable defense rise to the occasion to lift them from their current ninth-place position?

Toughest playoff matchup would be ... They'd take anyone, given the pressure just to make the playoffs with their $80 million payroll.

Best guess on playoff placement: Northwest runner-up, with a 50-50 chance of passing Dallas to gain a first-round matchup with the Lakers.