One week remains in the NBA’s regular season, and so much in the standings and playoffs seeds is unknown.
The playoff outlook in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference is a jumbled, chaotic mess, and it’s wonderful.
The 20 teams – 10 in each conference – headed for playoffs and play-in games are set, but except for a position here and there, several seeds are contested.
The surest thing in terms of seeds is that the Boston Celtics secured the No. 1 seed in the East and will finish as the only team with 60 or more victories.
Let’s take a look at the hottest, most compelling NBA playoff races:
The second seed in the East has been between Milwaukee and Cleveland, and both have blown recent chances to take advantage of the other’s losses. It looks like neither want the No. 2 or No. 3 seeds.
The Bucks are 3-7 in their past 10 games, including four consecutive losses – a mini-meltdown late in the regular season, at the worst time. However, the Cavaliers have lost eight of their past 11 games, including a disappointing 120-118 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, a game in which the Cavaliers led 94-68 with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
Headed into Tuesday’s games, the Bucks are in second place, one game ahead of Orlando and New York, 1½ games ahead of Cleveland and 2½ games ahead of Indiana. It will be difficult for the Pacers to leapfrog all those teams, but they could move up a spot or two in the standings.
There are important head-to-head games this week: Milwaukee vs. Orlando (twice) and Cleveland vs. Indiana.
Let’s say Milwaukee gets the No. 2 seed (though it’s not a guarantee given its recent play). But let’s keep the Bucks out of this discussion for now.
Third place through eighth place in the East are separated by three games (Orlando, New York, Cleveland, Indiana, Philadelphia and Miami) and third through sixth by 1½ games. It won’t be surprising to see tiebreakers, such as head-to-head, division leader, division won-lost percentage or even conference won-lost percentage determine seeds.
Despite injuries and the loss of Julius Randle for the rest of the season, the Knicks have managed to avoid an implosion, and don't dismiss the young and talented Magic.
The Sixers have won five consecutive games, and they lead eighth-place Miami by a ½ game, and the Pacers are 7-3 in their past 10 games – one game behind Cleveland and one game ahead of Philadelphia.
It has been an up-and-down ride for Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City. They've alternated 1-2-3. After Sunday’s games, Minnesota and Denver are tied for first at 54-24, and Oklahoma City is one game back at 53-25. The Nuggets and Timberwolves play each other once more, and the Timberwolves lead the season series 2-1.
The Timberwolves have the hardest schedule left of the three, the Thunder’s final four game are at home and the Nuggets have the easiest schedule among the three, according to tankathon.com.
Because so many of the West’s playoff spots are up for grabs, it doesn’t make sense for any of the teams to play for what’s considered a more favorable first-round playoff matchup.
The fourth-place Clippers needed that comeback victory against Cleveland on Sunday with Dallas just two games back for the No. 4 seed. If a tiebreaker is needed between the Clippers and Mavericks, the Clippers win it based on a 2-1 record in head-to-head games. Two more Clippers victories ensures Dallas can’t catch them.
Fifth place through 10th place in the West is jam packed – six teams are separated by five games and five teams are separated by three games.
Phoenix has the second-most difficult schedule, but the Lakers, Pelicans and Kings are not far behind. The Suns are in sixth place but have a brutal schedule against other playoff teams fighting for seeding and their final three games are on the road.
The Lakers have won 12 of their past 17 games but have struggled to emerge from ninth place. They moved briefly into eighth place after Saturday’s victory against Cleveland but dropped back into ninth after Sunday’s loss to Minnesota.
The Pelicans had lost four consecutive games before Sunday’s important victory against Phoenix, and the Kings have been up and down, playing just above .500 in the past month.
The Mavericks are in solid position and have been one of the best teams in the league the past two months. If they can’t catch the Clippers for the fourth seed, they should fend off Phoenix and New Orleans for the No. 5 seed.
The Warriors are in the play-in game – the Rockets have been officially eliminated – and Tuesday’s game against the Lakers is noteworthy if the Warriors want to have a home game in the 9-10 play-in contest. The Warriors own the tiebreaker between the teams with a 2-1 lead in the season series.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
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