NBA Standings 2015: Updated Regular-Season Records and Playoff-Bracket Picture

With 12 of the 16 spots already locked up, the NBA playoff picture is coming into focus. The most interesting race still remaining is for the final Western Conference slot, with New Orleans and Oklahoma City locked in a duel, but the tops of both conferences are set. 

The other three spots still up for grabs are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but it's hard to be excited with every team currently under .500 with a handful of games to play. Upsets happen in sports all the time, so I guess you can't discount one of these teams pulling off a shocker. 

There is less than one week to go before the regular season ends. Here's a look at the playoff picture as of Thursday and what to watch for in the postseason. 

Eastern Conference	Western Conference
No. 1 Atlanta Hawks (Clinched top seed) vs. No. 8 Brooklyn Nets	No. 1 Golden State Warriors (Clinched top seed) vs. No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans
No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers (Clinched two seed) vs. No. 7 Boston Celtics	No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks (Clinched seventh seed)
No. 3 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks	No. 3 Houston Rockets vs. No. 6 San Antonio Spurs
No. 4 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 5 Washington Wizards)	No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers

Position	Eastern Conference	GB	Position	Western Conference	GB
1	Atlanta Hawks (59-19, Southeast Division Champions)	-	1	Golden State Warriors (63-15, Pacific Division Champions)	-
2	Cleveland Cavaliers (51-27, Central Division Champions)	8	2	Memphis Grizzlies (53-25, Southwest Division Champions)	10
3	Toronto Raptors (46-32, Atlantic Division Champions)	13	3	Houston Rockets (53-25)	10
4	Chicago Bulls (46-32, Clinched Playoff Berth)	13	4	Portland Trail Blazers (51-27, Northwest Division Champions)	12
5	Washington Wizards (45-33, Clinched Playoff Berth)	14	5	Los Angeles Clippers (53-26, Clinched Playoff Berth)	10.5
6	Milwaukee Bucks (38-40)	21	6	San Antonio Spurs (53-26, Clinched Playoff Berth)	16
7	Boston Celtics (36-42)	23	7	Dallas Mavericks (47-31, Clinched Playoff Berth)	21
8	Brooklyn Nets (36-42)	23	8	New Orleans Pelicans (42-36)	21
9	Indiana Pacers (35-43)	24	9	Oklahoma City Thunder (42-36)	21
10	Miami Heat (35-43)	24	10	Phoenix Suns (39-40)	24.5

Western Conference

As good as Golden State and Atlanta have been this season, those teams aren't stories right now because we know what they are. There hasn't been any wild variance in their performances, which have proven to be terrific over the 82-game season. 

The real story developing late in the year is the San Antonio Spurs. Remember when the Spurs were 34-23 on February 26? Hopefully the Western Conference enjoyed it at the time, because the last 22 games have been a different story, as the Spurs' official Twitter account noted:

Yet because the West is such a clustered mess at the top, San Antonio's seeding could range anywhere from second to sixth. This is a franchise that's not going to care where or who it plays, as the Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN.com) pointed out how dominant the defending champs have been down the stretch:

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San Antonio has won each of its last nine games by at least a dozen points, tying the longest streak of its kind in NBA history. There were two other streaks of this length, and both involved LeBron James-led teams. The Cavaliers were the first team to accomplish this in November/December 2008, and the Heat tied that streak in February/March 2012. LeBron James played in every game of both streaks.

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In a season with Golden State dominating the NBA, the specter of San Antonio hovers over every team as the playoffs approach. 

The race between New Orleans and Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot is fascinating. There's been a consensus all year that the Thunder would struggle before eventually pulling together to make the playoffs and be a dangerous out. 

A lot of things have changed for the Thunder along the way. Serge Ibaka hasn't played since March 11 and isn't close to returning, per Oklahoma City head coach Scott Brooks (h/t Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman):

Oh, yeah, and Kevin Durant only played in 27 games before being shut down with lingering foot problems that required season-ending surgery. 

As a result of Oklahoma City's slide, the Pelicans have quietly snuck into the playoff mix. The two teams enter play on April 9 tied with a 42-36 record, but the schedule does favor the Thunder with games against Sacramento, Indiana, Portland and Minnesota. 

New Orleans could benefit from teams having already clinched a playoff berth and resting starters (Houston, San Antonio), but on paper it's fighting an uphill battle to make the postseason. 

Neither team is going to make a deep run, because their rosters are so limited and the Western Conference is so good. The Thunder have been destroyed by injuries this season. The Pelicans have arguably the league's best player in Anthony Davis, but not much else that opponents have to game-plan for. 

Eastern Conference

The top and middle of the Eastern Conference are basically set. Atlanta and Cleveland have secured their spots as the first and second seeds, respectively. Toronto, Chicago and Washington are in the playoffs, but that's such an interesting group due to the lack of consistency from all three. 

The Wizards were in free fall for a couple months coming out of the All-Star break but have won four straight games to have a shot at the third or fourth seed. Granted, the competition hasn't been strong, with three of those four wins coming against Philadelphia (twice) and the New York Knicks. 

The Bulls are going to be a chic pick heading into the playoffs because Derrick Rose made his triumphant return on Wednesday, but that happened in a loss to Orlando. Before that game, per SportsCenter, Chicago has been terrific with its original starting five intact:

Things will get better for the Bulls as Rose gets his speed and explosiveness back, so it's best not to overreact to one poor game against a bad opponent. 

Trying to piece together the bottom of the standings is difficult because there's nothing sexy about a sub-.500 playoff team. On April 7, Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight gave Boston and Brooklyn the highest playoff probabilities of a group that also includes Indiana and Miami:

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The Celtics, aided by a 3-1 record over the past week (and an improved power rating), now sport a 57 percent playoff probability and more expected end-of-season wins than either Miami or Indiana. Likewise, the Nets leapfrogged the Pacers and Heat by an even greater margin after going 4-1 over the past week-plus. Brooklyn’s chances of making the playoffs are now nearly 77 percent, a radical departure from its 17 percent postseason probability of two weeks prior.

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As unappealing as those teams are, the Celtics are a good story because of their low expectations. This franchise is obviously trying to rebuild, having dealt Rajon Rondo earlier this season and stockpiling draft picks, yet will make the playoffs barring a collapse. 

Head coach Brad Stevens, who knows something about surprise runs from his days at Butler, deserves a great deal of credit for getting this team to play well enough to be in the postseason mix already. There's a long way to go before Boston is a true title contender again, but this is excellent forward momentum, whereas a lot of franchises trying to rebuild are stuck in the mud.