As the NBA playoffs near, NBA.com has made sure to diagram those teams currently in the postseason picture. Is your team in contention as there is less than a month and a half left of NBA action and just over 20 games left to play?
First things first, though the bottom of the standings are pretty interesting in both conferences, the Miami Heat (1) are tearing things up and ruining playoff runs for everybody in the league. They are currently on a 15-game winning streak and seem to have finetuned everything after the All-Star Break. However, it will be interesting to see how far they can carry this great run.
The Indiana Pacers (2) and New York Knicks (3) are the closest teams to the Heat and they are trailing them by seven and 7.5 games respectively. The Chicago Bulls (T-4) are finding a way to win without Derrik Rose while the Brooklyn Nets (T-4) are proving inconsistent, but securely holding on to a playoff spot.
The bottom tier of the Eastern Conference features teams like the Atlanta Hawks (6), Boston Celtics (7) and Milwaukee Bucks (8). Just outside of the playoff party you have the Philadelphia 76ers who are 7.5 games from the Bucks while the Toronto Raptors are 8.5 games back.
The eight teams in the East look clear, but their position is still a question. The Bulls and Nets might end up facing each other in the playoffs since they look to hold the fourth and fifth seeds.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Probably slightly more intriguing is the competitive West. The San Antonio Spurs (1) are currently in first place, but the Oklahoma City Thunder (2) and Los Angeles Clippers (3) are close. The Thunder are trailing by just 2.5 games and the Clippers are just 4.5. With 20 games left and no Tony Parker, the Spurs margin looks extremely thin.
Securely in the fourth and fifth seeds are the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets respectively.
As always, the bottom of the conference is extremely competitive. The Golden State Warriors (6) have been struggling as of late, while the Houston Rockets (7) are taking down names and going after everybody in the bottom of the division. The Utah Jazz (8) are also struggling, slipping to the eighth seed.
The Jazz's struggles have opened up the door for the Los Angeles Lakers who are 2.5 games out of eighth place and the Portland Trail Blazers are 3.5 games out.
Here are the standings of both conferences. (Source: NBA.com)
|
Western |
W |
L |
GB |
L 10 |
|
47 |
14 |
0.0 |
8-2 |
|
|
44 |
16 |
2.5 |
6-4 |
|
|
43 |
19 |
4.5 |
8-2 |
|
|
39 |
19 |
6.5 |
9-1 |
|
|
40 |
22 |
7.5 |
7-3 |
|
|
34 |
27 |
13.0 |
4-6 |
|
|
33 |
28 |
14.0 |
6-4 |
|
|
Utah8 |
32 |
28 |
14.5 |
4-6 |
|
30 |
31 |
17.0 |
6-4 |
|
|
28 |
31 |
18.0 |
3-7 |
----------------------------------------------------
|
Eastern |
W |
L |
GB |
L 10 |
|
44 |
14 |
0.0 |
10-0 |
|
|
38 |
22 |
7.0 |
7-3 |
|
|
36 |
21 |
7.5 |
5-5 |
|
|
34 |
26 |
11.0 |
4-6 |
|
|
34 |
26 |
11.0 |
5-5 |
|
|
33 |
26 |
11.5 |
6-4 |
|
|
32 |
27 |
12.5 |
6-4 |
|
|
30 |
28 |
14.0 |
5-5 |
|
|
23 |
36 |
21.5 |
1-9 |
|
|
23 |
38 |
22.5 |
4-6 |
