NBA Standings 2015: Postseason Battles to Watch in Season's Stretch Run
The 2014-15 NBA season is everything we want as sports fans, and the main course is yet to come.
There is both love and hate, often surrounding the same teams or players. There are transcendent superstars and as tight of an MVP race as the sport has seen in years. There is also enough parity that a handful of squads could realistically win the championship, and the tight standings below certainly reflect that.
With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, there is still plenty to be decided before what promises to be appointment viewing in the first round of the playoffs. Here is a look at a postseason battle to watch in the season’s stretch run from each conference.
| Eastern Conference | ||
| 1 | Atlanta Hawks | - |
| 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 7.5 |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 11 |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | 11 |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | 14 |
| 6 | Milwaukee Bucks | 19 |
| 7 | Brooklyn Nets | 21.5 |
| 8 | Miami Heat | 22 |
| Out of current playoff picture | Boston Celtics | 22 |
| Out of current playoff picture | Charlotte Hornets | 23.5 |
| Out of current playoff picture | Indiana Pacers | 24 |
| Western Conference | ||
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | - |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 10.5 |
| 3 | Memphis Grizzlies | 11 |
| 4 | Portland Trail Blazers | 13.5 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Clippers | 12.5 (behind Portland because Trail Blazers are a division leader) |
| 6 | San Antonio Spurs | 13 |
| 7 | Dallas Mavericks | 16.5 |
| 8 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 20 |
| Out of current playoff picture | New Orleans Pelicans | 21.5 |
| Out of current playoff picture | Phoenix Suns | 24.5 |
Eastern Conference: Battle for No. 7 and No. 8
Entering play Friday, there is only one way to describe the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race—a mess.
Sure, there is the fact that only five teams in the entire conference have a winning record, but the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers are all within 2.5 games of each other, with the Nets holding the No. 7 spot and the Heat holding the No. 8 by virtue of tiebreakers.
The fact that the race is so close is part of what makes it intriguing, but what the No. 7 and No. 8 spots mean for the first round of the playoffs is more interesting.
The Atlanta Hawks clinched the top spot in the East, and LeBron James and the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers occupy the No. 2 slot. It may seem unfair to the Hawks after a terrific season, but facing James in the first round does not sound all that enticing. It could be more rewarding to earn the No. 8 seed than the No. 7 if you prescribe to that theory.
Bleacher Report’s NBA senior writer Ethan Skolnick presented another possibility if the Heat were to finish at No. 7 and face off with James, who helped them win the past four Eastern Conference titles:
"Facing a prospect of four rather bland first-round matchups in the Eastern Conference postseason, it's been understandable to crave a late-April collision between Cleveland and Miami, not simply for the soap opera potential but also for the chance of a competitive series, considering that Wade and the Heat handled the Cavaliers twice at home in the regular season.
"
That is the ultimate scenario for basketball fans looking for an entertaining first round, and it is well within the realm of possibilities. Unfortunately for Miami, there are a number of injuries holding it back from being a truly dangerous team in the playoffs.
The Pacers are also an interesting wild card because they were the No. 1 seed last year and faced off with the No. 8 seed Hawks in a thrilling, back-and-forth series. If Indiana was to rally in the season’s final stretch, we could have a rematch of that series with the seeding flipped.
The race for the bottom two playoff seeds may not impact who eventually holds up the Larry O’Brien Trophy, but it will directly influence the entertainment factor of the first round.
Western Conference: Battle for Position Nos. 2–6
Anywhere basketball fans look in the Western Conference, the first round of the playoffs (and beyond) will be a treat.
Even the battle between the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds will be must-watch television. The Golden State Warriors are basketball magicians but will have to deal with either Russell Westbrook or Anthony Davis in that opening series.
However, the real intrigue at the end of the regular season lies in the middle of the standings. A mere 2.5 games separate the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets and the No. 6-seeded San Antonio Spurs entering play Friday, which means the entire Western Conference playoff outlook hangs in the balance.
This goes beyond just the first-round implications, too. Do you think the Warriors want to play the defending champion Spurs as a potential No. 4 or 5 seed in the second round? What's more, the Rockets could go from the No. 2 seed with home-court advantage against anyone except Golden State to the No. 6 seed and a nearly impossible playoff path with one three-game losing streak.
The various scenarios are fascinating, and the end of the regular season will be playoff-like in many games.
The Spurs are the foreboding cloud hovering over the rest of the West because they haven’t looked like champions for much of the year but are starting to play like it with the postseason around the corner.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich discussed his team’s outlook in February, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News:
"If he’s not the Tony Parker of past years, we’re not going anywhere. His aggressiveness is a huge key for us, because of his ability to penetrate and get to the rim, and he hasn’t done that like he has in the past. It’s because of a lack of confidence in that leg and a lack of conditioning, a combination of those two things.
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San Antonio has now won eight of its last 10, and Parker (and defending NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard) is rounding into form. NBA fans know better than to count out the Spurs, who could finish anywhere from No. 2 to No. 6, just like the Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers.
It truly will be the wild West for the month of April.
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