NBA Playoffs 2018: Latest Standings and Postseason Matchups

If you haven't done so recently, give thanks to the basketball gods, because we are barely one week away from getting 2018 NBA playoff action.

The compelling narratives for the upcoming postseason are too numerous to count.

Will Stephen Curry's MCL sprain stop the Golden State Warriors from claiming a third world title in four years? Can anyone keep LeBron James from reaching his eighth consecutive Finals? Will the new-and-improved Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors prove their doubters wrong and exorcise past playoff demons? Is there any chance of a Kawhi Leonard sighting?

Our crystal ball is foggy on all those answers, but it's at least savvy enough to remind us we can't afford to miss when they come to light.

After laying out the latest standings, let's spotlight the three most compelling first-round matchups if the postseason tipped today.

NBA Standings

Eastern Conference

1. x-Toronto Raptors: 56-22

2. x-Boston Celtics: 53-25

3. x-Cleveland Cavaliers: 49-30

4. x-Philadelphia 76ers: 48-30

5. x-Indiana Pacers: 47-32

6. x-Miami Heat: 43-36

7. x-Washington Wizards: 42-37

8. x-Milwaukee Bucks: 42-37

9. e-Detroit Pistons: 37-41

10. e-Charlotte Hornets: 34-45

11. e-Chicago Bulls: 27-51

12. e-New York Knicks: 27-51

13. e-Brooklyn Nets: 26-53

14. e-Orlando Magic: 24-54

15. e-Atlanta Hawks: 22-57

Western Conference

1. y-Houston Rockets: 64-15

2. y-Golden State Warriors: 57-22

3. x-Portland Trail Blazers: 48-31

4. Utah Jazz: 46-33

5. San Antonio Spurs: 45-34

6. Oklahoma City Thunder: 45-34

7. New Orleans Pelicans: 44-34

8. Minnesota Timberwolves: 44-35

9. Denver Nuggets: 44-35

10. Los Angeles Clippers: 42-37

11. e-Los Angeles Lakers: 34-44

12. e-Sacramento Kings: 25-54

13. e-Dallas Mavericks: 24-55

14. e-Memphis Grizzlies: 21-57

15. e-Phoenix Suns: 20-59

*y-clinched a division title; x-clinched a playoff berth; e-eliminated from playoff contention

Most Compelling Matchups

No. 3 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 6 Miami Heat

Oscar Baldizon/Getty Images

Where else to start but the funky family affair for LeBron James? The Cleveland Cavaliers represent his wife, and the Miami Heat his former mistress. And, in a twist that could only come from the drama-filled Association, his ex-mistress happens to have banana-boat brother Dwyane Wade in tow.

Who in the NBA knows James better than Wade? Who has a better grasp on the King's talents than his former skipper, Erik Spoelstra?

That trio—plus world-class troller Udonis Haslem—spent four wildly successful seasons together, each ending with a trip to the Finals and two sending championship banners up into the AmericanAirlines Arena rafters.

The chess match aspect of this series would be phenomenal, and the differences between the teams would make this all kinds of fun. The Cavs have a top-five offense and a bottom-three defense. Miami's stoppers are tied for sixth overall, but its attack sits outside of the top half. This is also the sport's most dominant individual against a team that compensates for a lack of star power with depth.

But unless you really like the Heat's upset chances—you probably shouldn't—you're tuning into this for the first-ever playoff battle between James and Wade. When the pair squared off late last month in Miami, they shared a post-game embrace knowing it could be their final NBA meeting.

"At the end of the game, we just kind of had that moment like 15 years strong—as brothers, as teammates, as competitors, as teammates again, as competitors again," James said, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "But our brotherhood is beyond this game of basketball. You just don't take [it] for granted. You just don't know."

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

Sam Forencich/Getty Images

As things stand, this would be the only first-round matchup where a pair of top-10 scorers go head-to-head at the same position. Damian Lillard (26.7 points per game) and Russell Westbrook (25.6) rank fifth and eighth, respectively, and they combined to score 158 points the three times they faced off this season.

Beyond the spotlight each commands, they'd have extra incentive to one-up the other after Westbrook took a thinly veiled shot at Lillard's All-Star selection in January.

While discussing teammate Paul George's initial snub (he was later added as an injury replacement), Westbrook complained about "guys complaining about getting snubbed until they get in," per ESPN's Royce Young. This wasn't even two weeks after Lillard voiced his frustrations about not being selected the past two seasons to ESPN's Chris Haynes.

Lillard later called Westbrook's comments "kind of disappointing," per ESPN's Nick Friedell, adding that Westbrook has "played against me, he's played against our team, he knows what I've accomplished."

While that's not exactly a heated war of words, it's a big enough rift for it to generate discussion should this series come to fruition. It's also not the only reason this clash would belong on your radar.

These squads have two of the top secondary scorers in George (21.6) and C.J. McCollum (21.5), and two of the more intimidating low-post bruisers in Steven Adams and Jusuf Nurkic.

One more interesting angle—the Portland Trail Blazers tried to recruit Carmelo Anthony before the scoring forward was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

No. 2 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans

Noah Graham/Getty Images

No matter which team the Golden State Warriors draw in the first round, ample attention will be paid to that series. That's because Stephen Curry's sprained MCL might mean the defending champs won't have their most important player available in that round.

Granted, there are much worse fall-back options than being forced to build a Curry-less offense around Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. But this would be the first playoff test for Curry's understudy, Quinn Cook, who is close to having his two-way contract converted into a standard, multiyear deal, sources told Haynes.

But if you're coming to this series to see how the Warriors respond, you're staying for the second-ever glimpse at playoff Anthony Davis.

The Brow has only played four postseason games in his career, which came against Golden State in 2015. While the New Orleans Pelicans were swept, Davis was a one-man wrecking ball. He averaged 31.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in the series, strikingly similar stats to the ones he's posted since DeMarcus Cousins went down with a ruptured Achilles (30.3 points, 12.1 boards and 3.0 rejections).

The Dubs swept the season series with the Pelicans, and this collision could produce a similar outcome. Still, it will be telling to see how Golden State reacts to not having Curry and immensely enjoyable to see Davis back on the playoff stage.

Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com.