Though they play in different conferences, the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks have to watch their backs as the NBA playoffs are nearing. Both are currently in the playoff race, but the Lakers are barely in, while the Knicks are trying to make a splash by grabbing the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Let's tackle the Knicks' situation first.
They are currently percentage points ahead of the Indiana Pacers and in command of second place in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are 38-23 with a .623 winning percentage, while the Pacers are 39-24 with a .619 winning percentage.
The current difference between a No. 2 and No. 3 seed is the possibility of facing either the Atlanta Hawks or Boston Celtics. Now, as much as the Knicks and their fans would love to beat Boston, playing the Hawks would be the safer option. For some reason, Atlanta teams across sports are great getting into the playoffs, but once there, they just can't manage to win a championship.
The Celtics might be old, but they present themselves as a dangerous team once in the playoff. The Knicks are injured and Carmelo Anthony's knee is a big question mark as they are trying to figure out his situation. There's no Amar'e and the Knicks' depth is slowly depleting.
As far as their own division, the Knicks are two games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and five ahead of the aforementioned Celtics. They really have to crank it up before the postseason in order to enter the competition confidently.
Over in the Western Conference, the Lakers are in the pit of the standings as they have repossessed eighth place with a win over Orlando Magic. It looks like the Utah Jazz and Lakers will enter into a seesaw battle for the final playoff spot, if the Jazz can remain relevant as they have one of the toughest schedules to close out the season.
Currently, the Lakers are 34-31 with a half-game lead in the standings. The Jazz were inactive and stand at 33-31.
Here are the complete standings and seeds of the NBA teams that would be in the playoffs if the season were to end today.
| Western |
W |
L |
PCT |
GB |
| San Antonio1 |
49 |
16 |
0.754 |
0.0 |
| Oklahoma City2 |
47 |
17 |
0.734 |
1.5 |
| Memphis3 |
43 |
19 |
0.694 |
4.5 |
| L.A. Clippers4 |
45 |
20 |
0.692 |
4.0 |
| Denver5 |
43 |
22 |
0.662 |
6.0 |
| Golden State6 |
36 |
29 |
0.554 |
13.0 |
| Houston7 |
34 |
30 |
0.531 |
14.5 |
| L.A. Lakers8 |
34 |
31 |
0.523 |
15.0 |
| Eastern |
W |
L |
PCT |
GB |
| Miami1x |
48 |
14 |
0.774 |
0.0 |
| New York2 |
38 |
23 |
0.623 |
9.5 |
| Indiana3 |
39 |
24 |
0.619 |
9.5 |
| Brooklyn4 |
38 |
27 |
0.585 |
11.5 |
| Chicago5 |
35 |
28 |
0.556 |
13.5 |
| Boston6 |
34 |
29 |
0.540 |
14.5 |
| Atlanta7 |
34 |
29 |
0.540 |
14.5 |
| Milwaukee8 |
32 |
30 |
0.516 |
16.0 |
