5 NBA Teams in Perfect Positions for the Playoffs
We're in the final stretch of the NBA season. Most teams across the league have roughly 20 games left, and there’s plenty of jockeying for playoff positioning in both the Western and Eastern Conferences.
The historic Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers have dictated the pace throughout the entire year, but teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors are in hot pursuit in the final quarter of the season.
With this list, we’ll take a look at a handful of teams from both conferences which, if the playoffs started today (or rather soon), would be in great position to make a steady playoff run in this year’s postseason.
Three teams from the Western Conference made the cut, while a pair of teams from the Eastern Conference (including a bit of a surprise) were represented on this list.
5. Detroit Pistons
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OK, so the Pistons would play LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 1, but let’s be honest: Do you want to watch the up-and-down Washington Wizards or, heaven forbid, the Chicago Bulls attempt to dethrone King James again in a series?
It’s not 2005 again, but the Pistons are in a good position to reach their first postseason since the 2008-09 playoffs, when they were swept by—wait for it—the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It’s not a good matchup for Detroit by any means, but head coach Stan Van Gundy is building the franchise back into a prominent team in the Eastern Conference again. It would feel right to see the Pistons playing in the playoffs again.
Out of the teams in the hunt for the final playoff spot, the Pistons would likely give Cleveland the most competitive series out of teams like Chicago, Washington and even the Orlando Magic, who sit 3.5 games in back of the eighth seed in the East.
Andre Drummond has been the focal point for Van Gundy this season, and the more you watch the Pistons, the more you see the inner workings of the "Dwight Howard and four shooters" offense Van Gundy ran when the Magic advanced to the NBA Finals in 2009 after defeating James and the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
4. Memphis Grizzlies
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Oh, those "grit 'n' grind" Memphis Grizzlies.
Despite losing Marc Gasol for the season with a broken foot, the Grizzlies still sit 12 games over the .500 mark as the West’s fifth seed.
This year could mark the beginning of the end for these current Grizzlies, mostly because of Mike Conley’s pending free agency. Gasol is locked up through the 2018-19 season, while Zach Randolph and Tony Allen are both free agents after next season. Before the trade deadline, the Grizzlies swapped Jeff Green with the Clippers for the always entertaining Lance Stephenson and a future first-round pick.
With that being said, if the postseason started today, they would be matched up with an old rival: the Los Angeles Clippers. That seems proper after their past history and the recent trade the franchises made.
The Grizzlies don’t have the offense to keep up with the Chris Paul-led Clippers, but nobody ever wants to play Memphis in the postseason. Play slows down, and defense becomes the name of the game.
The two teams have had some awesome playoff battles in the past, and this would be the best matchup for Memphis in Round 1. You don’t want to fall to sixth or seventh and have to play the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
3. Houston Rockets
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The Houston Rockets are probably the biggest comedy show of the season by a country mile, but there’s a legitimate chance of their being ranked ahead of Detroit and Memphis.
If the playoffs started today, the Rockets would be the unfortunate souls to face the pending league MVP Stephen Curry and the Warriors in a Western Conference Finals rematch from last season in the opening round.
But Houston sits just 2.5 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the seventh seed in the West, which means it would likely get San Antonio in the first round instead of the Warriors.
This sounds crazy, but Houston has been a real thorn in the side of the Spurs in recent years. From March 2013 to the present day, the Rockets are 7-6 against the Spurs, including a six-game win streak that ran through the Spurs’ championship season in 2014.
If (and it’s a major “if”) James Harden and Dwight Howard can get on the same page—or even the same book, for that matter—Houston may not beat San Antonio, but it’ll make life tough for the Spurs. It’s a better-case scenario for the Rockets if they can get to the seventh spot.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
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When you’re one of the league’s high-powered offenses and possess two of the 10 best players on the planet today, you can beat anyone (well, almost anyone).
They’re only 1.5 games up on the Los Angeles Clippers at the current moment after losing to the Clips on Wednesday night, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are in a fantastic position. If they did in fact face Dallas (the West’s current No. 6 seed), it wouldn’t be a walkover by any means, but they’d avoid Golden State until potentially the Western Conference Finals.
There is the issue of possibly playing the San Antonio Spurs in Round 2, but if you can hold off playing the Warriors for as long as possible, you’re in a good spot.
The talk of the league has been Stephen Curry, but Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have both had MVP-caliber seasons this year. The Thunder still need some added support from Serge Ibaka, but Westbrook and Durant can carry the load deep into the postseason.
1. Boston Celtics
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They probably have your favorite team’s draft pick and are currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference with 20 games left.
Brad Stevens might not only be the NBA Coach of the Year, but he might also be coaching the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. The Toronto Raptors would beg to differ, and luckily, we may see that matchup in the second round of the postseason this spring.
Boston would have a favorable matchup in their first-round meeting with the Charlotte Hornets in Round 1, followed by a potential showdown with the Raptors. Plus, they would avoid the Cleveland Cavaliers until the Eastern Conference Finals (like Oklahoma City in the West).
The East is terrible, but Boston isn’t. They’ve won 12 in a row at home and sit four games behind Toronto for the second seed. Isaiah Thomas is playing like an All-NBA player, Evan Turner has been a revelation off the bench and the Celtics are third in the NBA in defensive efficiency according to ESPN's Hollinger stats. They’re good.
The outlook for Boston is wonderful for the remainder of the season and into the offseason. They are currently projected to have three first-round draft picks within the first 23 selections in June, and their rise back to relevance has been lightning-quick.
Michael Whitlow is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can find Michael's other work here and you can follow him on Twitter: @MAWhitlow.
