NBA Playoff Picture: Final 2014 Standings and Updated Bracket

Wednesday marked the final day of the 2013-14 NBA regular season, meaning playoff seeding and lottery odds were sorted out as the final standings were released. 

Here is a look at those standings for both the Eastern and Western Conference:

Position	Team	Record
1	San Antonio Spurs	62-20
2	Oklahoma City Thunder	59-23
3	Los Angeles Clippers	57-25
4	Houston Rockets	54-28
5	Portland Trail Blazers	54-28
6	Golden State Warriors	51-31
7	Memphis Grizzlies	50-32
8	Dallas Mavericks	49-33
9	Phoenix Suns	48-34
10	Minnesota Timberwolves	40-42
11	Denver Nuggets	36-46
12	New Orleans Pelicans	34-48
13	Sacramento Kings	28-54
14	Los Angeles Lakers	27-55
15	Utah Jazz	25-57

Position	Team	Record
1	Indiana Pacers	56-26
2	Miami Heat	54-28
3	Toronto Raptors	48-34
4	Chicago Bulls	48-34
5	Washington Wizards	44-38
6	Brooklyn Nets	44-38
7	Charlotte Bobcats	43-39
8	Atlanta Hawks	38-44
9	New York Knicks	37-45
10	Cleveland Cavaliers	33-49
11	Detroit Pistons	29-53
12	Boston Celtics	25-57
13	Orlando Magic	23-59
14	Philadelphia 76ers	19-63
15	Milwaukee Bucks	15-67

Of more importance than the final records, though, is the positioning in the NBA playoffs. The NBA certainly had that in mind when it let fans know what the first-round bracket looks like for the postseason:

Here is a glance at some of the key dates to keep in mind throughout the playoffs:

• April 19: 2014 NBA playoffs begin
• May 5: conference semifinals begin (possible move up to May 3 or 4)
• May 20: conference finals begin (possible move up to May 18 or 19)
• June 5: The NBA Finals begin 

Another area of interest for a certain sector of fans as we head into the postseason is the overall odds to win the championship. Vegas Insider gave title odds to all 16 teams in the playoffs, as of Wednesday, April 16:

Team	Odds
Miami Heat	19-10
San Antonio Spurs	3-1
Oklahoma City Thunder	19-5
Indiana Pacers	8-1
Los Angeles Clippers	10-1
Houston Rockets	30-1
Brooklyn Nets	35-1
Chicago Bulls	45-1
Portland Trail Blazers	50-1
Golden State Warriors	60-1
Memphis Grizzlies	85-1
Toronto Raptors	100-1
Dallas Mavericks	120-1
Washington Wizards	150-1
Charlotte Bobcats	200-1
Atlanta Hawks	950-1

Now that we know what the odds, first-round bracket and final regular-season standings look like, let’s dig into a couple of storylines to watch in the first few games of the NBA playoffs.

Will Heavy Doses of Dwyane Wade be Necessary Against the Charlotte Bobcats?

Issac Baldizon/Getty Images

Dwyane Wade has played off and on all season long, which makes LeBron James’ production all the more impressive considering how much of an offensive burden he has carried.

It will be intriguing to watch how often the Miami Heat use Wade in the first round against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Heat knocked off Charlotte in all four regular-season contests this year and should theoretically be able to handle the Bobcats in a best-of-seven series without heavy minutes from the star shooting guard.

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

It would probably be in the team’s best interest to rest his knees before potential showdowns with the likes of the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls or Brooklyn Nets in later rounds. All three of those teams bring a physical style of play to the court, and a postseason series against any of them will be grueling.

What’s more, James has already proven he can dominate the Bobcats.

He scored a career-high 61 points against them earlier in the year and was thankful afterward in his postgame interview in comments that come via Royce Young of CBS Sports:

"The man above has given me some unbelievable abilities to play this game of basketball. I try to take advantage of it each and every night." 

James will need much more help from his sidekick in the latter rounds than this one.

Offensive Firepower Aplenty

Rocky Widner/Getty Images

Perhaps the most intriguing matchup in the first round in the Western Conference is the one between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.

Golden State brings the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, David Lee and even Harrison Barnes to the table, while the Clippers counter with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan. That is plenty of offensive firepower on both sides.

In fact, the Clippers rank first in the league in points per game, but it was the Warriors who finished in the top 10 in both points scored and allowed per game. 

There is so much potential offense in this series, that it might actually come down to which better-than-advertised defense can answer the bell over the course of seven games.

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