NBA Playoffs 2016: Latest Standings and Postseason Matchups

There's certainly no shortage of excitement in the NBA with only a few days remaining in the regular season.

The Golden State Warriors are busy chasing 73 wins, the San Antonio Spurs could go undefeated at home in the regular season for the first time ever and most of the playoff spots are still very much up in the air. And those are just storylines that we get to enjoy before a thrilling two-month postseason.

Speaking of the postseason, let's check in with the league standings (as of April 8) and what the playoff matchups would be if the first round started Friday. ESPN.com updates those matchups frequently, so you can keep tabs on them as the final regular-season results continue to unfold.

Then we'll focus on three of the most intriguing prospective pairings and what might happen if those matchups came to fruition.

Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Seed	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	L10
1y	Cleveland Cavaliers	56	23	.709	-	7-3
2y	Toronto Raptors	52	26	.667	3.5	5-5
3x	Atlanta Hawks	47	32	.595	9	7-3
4x	Boston Celtics	46	32	.590	9.5	7-3
5x	Miami Heat	46	32	.590	9.5	7-3
6x	Charlotte Hornets	45	33	.577	10.5	6-4
7	Indiana Pacers	42	36	.538	13.5	6-4
8	Detroit Pistons	42	37	.532	14	7-3
	Chicago Bulls	39	40	.494	17	3-7
	Washington Wizards	38	40	.487	17.5	5-5
e	Orlando Magic	33	45	.423	22.5	4-6
e	Milwaukee Bucks	32	46	.410	23.5	3-7
e	New York Knicks	31	48	.392	25	3-7
e	Brooklyn Nets	21	57	.269	34.5	2-8
e	Philadelphia 76ers	10	68	.128	45.5	1-9
Seed	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	L10
1y	Golden State Warriors	70	9	.886	-	8-2
2y	San Antonio Spurs	65	13	.833	4.5	7-3
3y	Oklahoma City Thunder	54	25	.684	16	7-3
4x	Los Angeles Clippers	50	28	.641	19.5	7-3
5x	Memphis Grizzlies	42	36	.538	27.5	3-7
6x	Portland Trail Blazers	43	37	.538	27.5	7-3
7	Dallas Mavericks	40	38	.513	29.5	6-4
8	Utah Jazz	39	39	.500	30.5	6-4
	Houston Rockets	38	41	.481	32	3-7
e	Denver Nuggets	32	47	.405	38	4-6
e	Sacramento Kings	31	48	.392	39	4-6
e	New Orleans Pelicans	29	49	.372	40.5	4-6
e	Minnesota Timberwolves	27	52	.342	43	5-5
e	Phoenix Suns	21	58	.266	49	2-8
e	Los Angeles Lakers	16	62	.205	53.5	2-8

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
Matchup	Matchup
No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 8 Detroit Pistons	No. 1 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 8 Utah Jazz
No. 2 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 7 Indiana Pacers	No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks
No. 3 Atlanta Hawks vs. No. 6 Charlotte Hornets	No. 3 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 6 Portland Trail Blazers
No. 4 Boston Celtics vs. No. 5 Miami Heat	No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies

Notable Postseason Matchups

No. 3 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 6 Portland Trail Blazers 

It's very likely this 3-6 matchup won't pan out, because the Memphis Grizzlies are falling fast and are in a virtual tie with the Trail Blazers. Considering the Grizzlies still have two games left versus the Warriors as well as two other road contests against playoff-bound teams, it's likely they'll fall down a slot and let Portland rise to the No. 5 seed.

Still, it's fun to imagine the scoring duels between these two high-octane offensive squads. 

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

The Thunder's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are two of the league's five best players and are capable of combining for 60 points on any given night. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum aren't quite as good overall, but the two lethal outside shooters are equally capable of lighting up the scoreboard for Portland.

Oklahoma City would be the obvious favorite because of Durant and Westbrook's sheer dominance, along with the boost provided by supporting players like Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter, but Portland is a well-coached young upstart that could probably steal a wildly entertaining game or two.

No. 4 Boston Celtics vs. No. 5 Miami Heat

Two fun teams with great depth and coaching facing each other in Round 1? Count me in.

The Celtics, led by head coach Brad Stevens, have formed a defensive identity behind Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk. Of course, Stevens also has star point guard Isaiah Thomas in his holster, along with quality players like Jared Sullinger, Evan Turner, Amir Johnson and Tyler Zeller.

Are you catching the theme here? Boston has a bunch of very good rotation guys, which means it can play a wide variety of styles and doesn't fatigue easily. 

Darren Abate/Associated Press

The equally-deep Heat are an interesting mix of youth and veterans. Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson provide energy to complement the steady, smart games of Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic, Joe Johnson and Luol Deng. With no recent updates on the injured Chris Bosh's status for the playoffs, it may be best to assume he won't be available. If that is the case, the Heat are formidable but don't have quite as high a playoff ceiling.

This matchup wins the unofficial "Most Likely to Go Seven Games" award out of all eight current pairings. 

No. 1 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 8 Utah Jazz

Let's get one thing out of the way: This series probably wouldn't go longer than five games, if it isn't a sweep. Golden State took all four head-to-head matchups during the regular season, and the Warriors' roster is too talented for Utah's for this matchup to go the distance.

That said, we've seen the big Jazz frontcourt give Golden State problems this season, most notably in the two contests played in Utah. Both games went down to the wire, and Utah outrebounded Golden State in both games by a combined 11 boards.

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

The Jazz were able to impose their preferred slow pace on the Warriors, which is key. According to ESPN.com, Utah ranks last in the NBA in possessions per game (93.3), which is significantly behind Golden State's No. 2-ranked number (101.9). It's always fun to watch teams with two vastly different styles collide, and this is no exception.

At the very least, bigs like Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors could physically wear the Warriors out for their second-round matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers or Memphis Grizzlies.