NBA Playoff Standings 2015: Updated Postseason Records and Predictions

Thank you, second round of the 2015 NBA playoffs.

While the first round featured the thrilling seven-game showdown between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers, there wasn’t much excitement elsewhere. The only other truly competitive series was the one between the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, and the Bulls won the final game by a ridiculous 54 points.

However, the second round has answered the bell, and three of the four series were tied at two games apiece entering play Tuesday. There have been three buzzer-beating winners already (Derrick Rose, Paul Pierce and LeBron James), and every series outside of the one between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers hangs in the balance.

With that in mind, here is a look at the updated postseason standings and predicted outcomes.

Team	Record
Cleveland Cavaliers	6-2
Washington Wizards	6-2
Golden State Warriors	6-2
Memphis Grizzlies	6-3
Los Angeles Clippers	7-4
Chicago Bulls	6-4
Atlanta Hawks	6-4
Houston Rockets	5-4
San Antonio Spurs	3-4
Milwaukee Bucks	2-4
Brooklyn Nets	2-4
Portland Trail Blazers	1-4
Dallas Mavericks	1-4
New Orleans Pelicans	0-4
Boston Celtics	0-4
Toronto Raptors	0-4

Matchup	Score	Predicted Winner
Eastern Conference
(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Washington Wizards	2-2	Atlanta Hawks
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (3) Chicago Bulls	2-2	Cleveland Cavaliers
Western Conference
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (5) Memphis Grizzlies	2-2	Golden State Warriors
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (3) Los Angeles Clippers	3-1, Clippers	Los Angeles Clippers

Series to Watch: Golden State Warriors Vs. Memphis Grizzlies

This isn’t how it was supposed to go for the Golden State Warriors.

Golden State finished with a sparkling 67-15 record during the regular season and lost a whopping two home games all year. Considering it had home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, picking Golden State to win the title wasn’t a tremendous stretch, even if its core doesn’t have as much postseason experience as some other teams.

What’s more, the Warriors have league MVP Stephen Curry and swept Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round. They even found a way to win Game 3 in overtime after they trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter. Curry tied the game in the final seconds with a dramatic three-pointer from the corner, and it looked as if Golden State would steamroll its way through the playoffs.

There was no reason to think differently after the Warriors’ Game 1 win against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round.

Memphis didn’t have Mike Conley in that contest, and his status for the rest of the series was in doubt with a facial fracture. The Warriors won by a comfortable 15 points, and it looked like business as usual for the Western Conference’s top seed.

However, Conley returned in Game 2, and the Grizzlies did the nearly unthinkable and knocked off the Warriors in Oracle Arena. Conley was brilliant, leading the way with 22 crucial points, and Tony Allen was a defensive menace on the other end of the floor.

It certainly wasn’t a fluke because Conley and Allen combined to hold Curry to 2-of-10 shooting from three-point range in a Memphis victory in Game 3. The Grizzlies crowd was raucous from the opening tip, and suddenly the unbeatable Warriors looked vulnerable.

The series once again took a turn in Game 4 when Curry responded like the MVP he was this season and dropped 33 points in a dominant 17-point win on the road.

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Golden State coach Steve Kerr discussed his team’s performance, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com): “Tonight we took a step towards understanding that sense of urgency and kind of competitiveness and physicality to the game. It was probably our most competitive effort, definitely of the series, but probably of the playoffs just in terms of understanding you got to play every second.” 

The effort impressed NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson as well:

The fact that this back-and-forth series is tied at two games apiece feels appropriate. Both teams have scrapped for loose balls, physically battled inside the paint and dominated for stretches of different games.

Allen and Golden State’s Draymond Green are two of the best defensive players in the league; Curry, Conley and Klay Thompson are trading three-pointers and Golden State is doing its best to prevent Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph from physically overtaking the series down low.

Kerr deserves plenty of credit along those lines for his Game 4 defensive adjustment that now makes this series even more interesting moving forward.

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

He elected to put center Andrew Bogut on Allen and move the smaller Harrison Barnes onto Randolph. It seemed strange on paper. But Allen is not an effective three-point shooter, so Bogut sagged off him and helped on Randolph and Gasol down low as something of a roaming free safety.

Bogut also cut off some of Conley’s penetration and helped with Memphis’ bigs on the glass.

The move worked to perfection, and Golden State’s victory was never really in doubt. That means Memphis must find a way to counterpunch, otherwise this competitive series will be over in six games with the West’s top seed advancing.

Either Allen must find a way to hit some jumpers and earn Golden State’s defensive respect, or the Grizzlies may be forced to take him out of the game for longer stretches to open up the offense. That would be a devastating move on the defensive end because Allen has spearheaded Memphis’ efforts on that side of the ball.

It was simply too difficult for Conley or the two bigs to generate quality shots with Bogut clogging the paint and leaving Allen on the outside.

In an ironic twist, the defensive stopper must find a way to score on the offensive end if the Grizzlies want to advance.

Prediction: Behind the new defensive adjustment and the emergence of Curry’s offensive spark in Game 4, the Warriors will have enough to outlast the Grizzlies in a physically grueling series. That will set up a showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers for the right to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.