NBA Playoffs 2018: Known Schedule, Bracket Picture Before Final Games of Season
The only detail we know about the first round of the 2018 NBA playoffs is the games start Saturday and Sunday.
Outside of the postseason start date, we don't know much when it comes to the opening-round matchups because of the chaos in the Eastern and Western Conference standings.
The Philadelphia 76ers are the hot team in the East, as they carry a 15-game winning streak into Wednesday, but their advantage over the Cleveland Cavaliers for third place is one game.
Over in the West, five teams are separated by one game from third to seventh place, while a pair of franchises are battling it out for the No. 8 seed.
Current Bracket Picture
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Toronto vs. No. 8 Washington
No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Indiana
No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Miami
No. 3 Philadelphia vs. No. 6 Milwaukee
Western Conference
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 8 Minnesota
No. 4 Portland vs. No. 5 New Orleans
No. 2 Golden State vs. No. 7 Oklahoma City
No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 San Antonio
Sixers, Bucks Face Off With Seedings On the Line
One of the many intriguing storylines entering Wednesday's action is the fight for seeding in the East, which revolves around the contest between the third-place Sixers and Milwaukee Bucks in sixth.
Brett Brown's team is on the longest winning streak in franchise history following Tuesday's win over Atlanta, but it needs one more victory to secure the position directly underneath the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics in the playoffs.
On the other side of the bracket, the Bucks hold a one-game advantage over the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards for the No. 6 seed, but they need a win to set up a first-round matchup against the Sixers or Cavs.
Since they don't hold a head-to-head advantage over either the Miami Heat or Washington Wizards, the Bucks must win in Philadelphia to avoid losing out on tiebreakers to the teams currently in seventh and eighth place.
After Washington beat Boston Tuesday, there are a few potential scenarios for the Bucks, who could finish sixth, seventh or eighth. The team's official Twitter account detailed all the possibilities:
The job is far less complicated for the Sixers, as they need to win to secure the third seed to finish off an incredible season in which the suffering from the early stages of the process was washed away.
While Ben Simmons is deservedly receiving most of the recognition during the streak, Philadelphia's role players stepped up as well, including J.J. Redick, Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli, who all scored over 20 points in Tuesday's win over Atlanta.
A loss Wednesday combined with a Cleveland win over New York would drop the Sixers down to the No. 4 seed and a matchup with the fifth-seeded Indiana Pacers due to the Cavs' division championship and superior conference record.
Trio of Clashes Determine Order of Finish in West
The only team placed third through ninth in the West not playing a playoff-bound opponent Wednesday is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who take on Memphis.
The other six clubs in those positions face each other, with Utah and Portland battling for the No. 3 seed, San Antonio visiting New Orleans, and Minnesota hosting Denver with the eighth seed on the line.
The number of seeding possibilities will leave your head spinning for days, but the simplest way to earn the highest seed possible through Wednesday's results is by winning.
Whichever team comes out on top between the Jazz and Trailblazers takes the No. 3 seed, and the victor of the clash in Minnesota places eighth and faces Houston in the first round.
Once you drop into the potential three-way tie at 48-34, the scenarios become murky given the complexity of the situation.
The loser of the Utah-Portland game, winner of New Orleans-San Antonio and presumably Oklahoma City would be thrown into the tiebreaking machine.
Portland currently holds the best conference record of the five teams, but a loss to Utah and a win by San Antonio would put the Spurs level with the Blazers in that tiebreaker.
With the margins being so slim, the playoff order in the West could come down to the last few tiebreakers. Portland's official Twitter account gave us a look at the scenarios entering Wednesday:
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Statistics obtained from NBA.com
