NBA Playoffs 2015: Current Postseason Picture, Matchups and Bracket
The Houston Rockets' James Harden scored 51 points to push his team to a 115-111 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. The win pulled Houston even with the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference standings, though the Grizz own the tiebreaker.
With seven games remaining, the race for the Southwest Division title and what will likely equate to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference should be compelling.
If the season ended on Thursday night, here's how the playoff matchups in both conferences would look:
| No. 1 Atlanta Hawks vs. No. 8 Brooklyn Nets | No. 1 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 8 Oklahoma City Thunder |
| No. 4 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 5 Washington Wizards | No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers |
| No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 7 Miami Heat | No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks |
| No. 3 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks | No. 3 Houston Rockets vs. No. 6 San Antonio Spurs |
Best Potential 1st-Round Series
Chicago vs. Washington
The Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards have built quite the rivalry over the last few years. Wizards big man Nene has professed his hate for the Bulls, per Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post:
To help confirm his statement, Nene was suspended for an altercation with Chicago shooting guard Jimmy Butler in the 2014 playoffs.
Aside from the extra-curricular activities, the two teams have split four games this season. If Derrick Rose returns to the lineup, the series will feature a marquee battle at point guard between him and John Wall.
Likewise at shooting guard, Bradley Beal and Butler will compete against each other. If this matchup holds up, it will prove to be a physical and chippy series.
Golden State vs. Oklahoma City
While it's very possible the Golden State Warriors could sweep the Oklahoma City Thunder in this series, who wouldn't want to see Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook head-to-head for at least four games?
Arguably two of the best point guards in the NBA, each playing their very different styles could make for an awesome stream of highlights. Can Steph put Westbook on skates like he did to Chris Paul? Would Curry play enough defense to not be caught in a poster by Westbrook?
On the other end, can Dion Waiters make Warriors head coach Steve Kerr put Klay Thompson on him and not on Westbrook?
Those are some interesting and compelling questions I hope we get a chance to have answered.
Cleveland vs. Miami
For obvious reasons, this would be a big draw. LeBron James and his new/old team in the postseason against his old team. The only thing that would make it better is if the Miami Heat had a healthy Chris Bosh (blood clots on lung) in the lineup.
As it stands, the Heat have taken two out of three games from the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. That's enough to at least make this matchup interesting beyond the James connection to both teams.
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