NBA Playoff Picture 2015: Updated Postseason Bracket, Races to Watch
The NBA postseason doesn’t officially begin until April 18, but the final week of the season is going to be a virtual playoff for a number of teams. From a pure excitement standpoint, basketball fans couldn’t ask for anything more.
While there are those squads that have dominated most of the regular season and are simply playing out the string—looking at you, Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors—every possession in these final few games will matter for those battling for the final playoff spots and those trying to position themselves into more favorable seeds.
With that in mind, here is a look at the updated playoff picture and standings before digging into a couple of noteworthy races to follow.
| 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 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks | No. 3 Houston Rockets vs. No. 6 San Antonio Spurs |
| No. 4 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 5 Washington Wizards | No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1 | Atlanta Hawks (59-19, Southeast Division Champions) | - | 1 | Golden State Warriors (64-15, Pacific Division Champions) | - |
| 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers (51-27, Central Division Champions) | 8 | 2 | Memphis Grizzlies (53-25, Southwest Division Champions) | 10.5 |
| 3 | Chicago Bulls (47-32, Clinched Playoff Berth) | 12.5 | 3 | Houston Rockets (53-25) | 10.5 |
| 4 | Toronto Raptors (46-32, Atlantic Division Champions) | 13 | 4 | Portland Trail Blazers (51-28, Northwest Division Champions) | 13 |
| 5 | Washington Wizards (45-33, Clinched Playoff Berth) | 14 | 5 | Los Angeles Clippers (53-26, Clinched Playoff Berth) | 11 |
| 6 | Milwaukee Bucks (38-40) | 21 | 6 | San Antonio Spurs (53-26, Clinched Playoff Berth) | 11 |
| 7 | Boston Celtics (36-42) | 23 | 7 | Dallas Mavericks (47-31, Clinched Playoff Berth) | 16.5 |
| 8 | Brooklyn Nets (36-42) | 23 | 8 | New Orleans Pelicans (42-36) | 21.5 |
| 9 | Indiana Pacers (35-43) | 24 | 9 | Oklahoma City Thunder (42-36) | 21.5 |
| 10 | Miami Heat (35-44) | 24.5 | 10 | Phoenix Suns (39-40) | 25 |
Western Conference: Race for No. 2 Seed
Plenty of fans are paying attention to the race for the final playoff seed in both conferences, and that makes sense. After all, the difference between the No. 8 and No. 9 seed is much greater in theory than the difference between the No. 2 and No. 3 seed.
Still, is either No. 8 seed actually going to win a playoff series against the Hawks or the Warriors?
The more interesting race out West is the battle for the No. 2 seed, where the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs are all within 0.5 games of each other. The ultimate winner of the race will get the No. 2 seed, while the ultimate loser will be all the way down at the No. 6 spot.
There are enough implications here to make your head spin, as seeding will determine who teams are matched up with in the first round (Doesn’t a series with the No. 7 seed Dallas Mavericks sound better than a series with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs?) and who the No. 1 seed Warriors will have to face in different stages of their potential title run.
Stu Jackson, former Executive Vice President of the NBA, discussed the cloud hovering over every other team in the Western Conference race:
The Spurs are starting to look like the machine we watched win the championship last season, and that is terrifying for the rest of the league, including the Warriors, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:
Avoiding the big, bad Spurs may be key for everyone else, but where the Spurs land will impact Golden State’s path as well. If the Spurs finish in the Nos. 2, 3 or 6 spots, the Warriors won’t have to play them until the Western Conference Finals. If they finish in the Nos. 4 or 5 spot, they would have to play them in the second round.
Sure, Golden State may have to play San Antonio at some point regardless, but there is at least an extra chance the Spurs lose if they are on the other side of the West bracket from the Warriors.
One thing is for sure—the Western Conference playoff puzzle is going to be fascinating. We just don’t know where all the pieces fit in yet.
Eastern Conference: Race for No. 3 Seed
Speaking of fascinating races, the battle for the No. 3 seed in the East between the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards is particularly intriguing because of the different layers involved.
The benefit of getting the No. 3 seed is clear in the first round, with a likely matchup against the below-.500 Milwaukee Bucks, but the argument can be made that the teams involved would be better off in the second round with the No. 4 or No. 5 seed.
It isn’t entirely fair to the No. 1 seed Hawks, but wouldn’t you rather your team play an Atlanta squad that is dealing with injuries to Paul Millsap and Thabo Sefolosha in the second round than a Cleveland Cavaliers bunch that is red hot and has LeBron James anchoring the attack?
The tricky part of that is the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds have to play each other in the first round. That means a physically grueling initial series that spells an early exit for the Bulls, Wizards or Raptors and could prove taxing to the eventual winner down the line.
Perhaps the biggest wild card in the entire battle for the No. 3 position in the East (and the Eastern Conference playoffs in general) is the health of Bulls star Derrick Rose. He has suffered a borderline ridiculous number of knee injuries the past couple of seasons and just returned from his latest setback Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.
If he can play at an even 70 percent level of the MVP he once was, it makes the Bulls much more dangerous moving forward.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau discussed Rose’s return process, per Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com: “I thought the first quarter was very good. I thought he got a little winded, [that's] to be expected, but it gives us a baseline and we can go from there. ... I think he's been out a long time so he's got to get that rhythm. I think the more he plays, the better it will be."
The No. 3 seed is a strange prize awaiting the winner of the Bulls, Wizards and Raptors race. Whichever team claims it may have an easier path to the second round, but it will also have to deal with King James once it arrives.
Follow me on Twitter:
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
