NBA Playoff Standings 2016: Updated Team Records, Seedings and More

Madness has a way of sweeping the NBA this time of year.

Call it a virus. One in which a team leading a rather so-so conference cans a head coach and obsesses over whether its top player follows it on social media—more on that in a bit. Or one where the deeper conference makes for better action, except nobody can really stand a chance against the top two teams.

It sounds all doom and gloom, but seasoned NBA fans know the drill—business is smack in the middle of picking up. The regular season has reached its important stretch, meaning the stars come out and so do the big performances.

For those just getting into the swing of things, welcome, and here's a review of the talking points to know.

NBA Playoff Standings

East
West
Pos.	Team	Win	Loss
1	x -Cleveland Cavaliers	50	20
2	Toronto Raptors	48	21
3	Miami Heat	40	29
4	Atlanta Hawks	41	30
5	Boston Celtics	41	30
6	Charlotte Hornets	40	30
7	Indiana Pacers	37	33
8	Chicago Bulls	36	33
9	Detroit Pistons	37	34
10	Washington Wizards	35	35
Pos.	Team	Win	Loss
1	y -Golden State Warriors	63	7
2	y -San Antonio Spurs	59	11
3	y -Oklahoma City Thunder	48	22
4	Los Angeles Clippers	43	26
5	Memphis Grizzlies	41	30
6	Portland Trail Blazers	36	35
7	Houston Rockets	35	35
8	Dallas Mavericks	35	35
9	Utah Jazz	34	36

Playoff Highlights

Underrated Team to Watch: Charlotte Hornets

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

This isn't an overreaction because Linsanity has swept the globe again and the Charlotte Hornets just took down the San Antonio Spurs.

No, the Hornets have been a team to watch for a while now, having worked their way up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference at 40-30 with an 8-2 mark over their last 10 outings.

Over that stretch, Charlotte took down San Antonio and the Miami Heat, and if one takes a broader look and reviews things dating back to the start of February, the Hornets have overcome notables such as the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers as well.

ESPN.com's Royce Young put it best after the Hornets took down the Spurs:

In a game in which the Hornets came back from being down by 23, they got a 29-point outburst from guard Jeremy Lin off the bench. The team shot 42 percent from deep and boasted 21 fast-break points to San Antonio's four.

These Hornets love to get out and run and have found a rotation giving opponents fits as of late. The team has proven it can play well against the best of the best in the conference, too—though at this pace it could climb as high as the third seed (Miami has a 40-29 mark in third) and get to run roughshod on one of the conference's lesser teams.

Gone are the days folks can just write off Charlotte. Ditto, perhaps, for the Eastern Conference being a snoozefest.

Potential Matchup to Circle: San Antonio Spurs vs. Houston Rockets

The Spurs are one of those teams mentioned in the intro as looking unbeatable, and for good reason. 

Forward Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs sit second only to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference despite a 59-11 record. The problem is the depth of the conference and a potential first-round encounter with the Houston Rockets.

Houston has been one of everyone's favorite punching bags this year. A miserable meeting of expectations, a canned coach, Dwight Howard trade drama and James Harden defense tend to do that.

But the Rockets aren't anything to sleep on in the postseason. They're 35-35, but so it goes in the conference. Howard and Co. are 6-4 over their past 10 and stand as one of just 11 teams to beat San Antonio.

In that upset on Christmas Day, Howard posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards and Harden dropped 20 points. It served as a good example of what the Rockets can do to the Spurs in a series, especially with Patrick Beverley providing a serious spark at the point as of late and new addition Michael Beasley averaging 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds over eight games.

It's easy to take the face-value approach and say the Spurs wipe the floor with the Rockets. Maybe it happens. But a Spurs collapse isn't impossible, nor is the Rockets—equipped with some smooth new additions—finally meeting expectations as a team most thought would have as high as the second seed this year.

It's certainly not a normal No. 2 vs. No. 7 encounter.

Top Storyline: Cleveland and the King 

Folks can't go far in their day-to-day lives without hearing about the possible drama between the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. 

James apparently unfollowed his team on social media:

It's a big deal, folks. James seems to have a reputation as a guy who does subtle things like this to get what he wants. Whether it's true isn't easy to discern, but this is an interesting development from a guy who knows exactly what such an action would cause.

A mess like this.

The Cavaliers have been a mess for a while. Granted, they are 7-3 over their last 10, but they sit just 1.5 games up on the Toronto Raptors and questions about chemistry and why the team hasn't improved under new head coach Tyronn Lue persist.

Maybe it's the three losses folks should focus on, though. Two came against the middling Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies, and the third was a blowout at the hands of Miami, a team seeming to have Cleveland's number.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com summed up the loss to the Heat well:

Cleveland seems lost against certain teams. Questions remains about power forward Kevin Love's role. Slapping him at center and James at power forward for a small-ball approach isn't working.

Consistent struggles against one of the top teams they might have to face don't help the Cavaliers, nor does the looming suggestion James could once again leave the city. 

So yes, the Cavaliers are the top team to watch on the road to the postseason and in it. And not because they're a No. 1 seed, but for all the wrong reasons.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.