NBA Standings 2016: Analyzing Late-Season Playoff Races from Each Conference
A week before the 2015-16 NBA season closes shop, multiple playoff berths remain up for grabs.
Eleven of 16 postseason slots are accounted for, and far fewer squads have settled into a specific seed. The middle of the Eastern Conference remains murky, while none of the four Western Conference powerhouses have any clue whom they'll host in Round 1.
With most eyes glued on the Golden State Warriors' hunt for an NBA-record 73 victories, several tight playoff races crawl underneath the radar. The playoff picture can still alter drastically before the season concludes on Wednesday night, so let's take a look at the current standings and postseason battles.ย
Eastern Conference
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 56-23 | --- |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 52-25 | 3 |
| 3 | Atlanta Hawks | 46-32 | 9.5 |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 46-32 | 9.5 |
| 5 | Miami Heat | 45-32 | 10 |
| 6 | Charlotte Hornets | 45-33 | 10.5 |
| 7 | Indiana Pacers | 42-36 | 13.5 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 42-37 | 14 |
| In the Hunt | |||
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 39-39 | 16.5 |
| 10 | Washington Wizards | 38-40 | 17.5 |
For the first time since the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, every Eastern Conference team will enter the postseason with a winning record.
In fact, the No. 8 seed Detroit Pistons would have a chance of securing the No. 5 seed in the traditionally stronger West. Instead, they're fending off the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards for the final playoff bid while trying to leapfrog the Indiana Pacers into the No. 7 spot.ย
Following victories on Wednesday night, the Pistons and Pacers both created separation over the Bulls.ย A rare Eastern Conference mainstay, Chicago has made seven straight postseasons and 10 of the last 11. Only the Atlanta Hawks, who will extend their streak to nine, have accumulated a longer active streak in the volatile conference.
Three days after a monumental loss to Detroit, the Bulls dug their grave deeper with a 108-92 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, who have scored 99.3 points per game this season. The Bulls are 13-18 since Feb. 1 and play the next two of their final four games against the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Chicago has not missed the playoffs since drafting Derrick Rose in 2008. Per Bulls.com'sย Sam Smith, the point guard struggled to process the dire predicament:
"This is the first time I know I have been in this position. I think the majority of the guys itโs the first time theyโve been in this position. So we have to figure it out some way or another. I really donโt know. Same message (coach Fred Hoiberg) had throughout the entire year: Keep playing hard. I think everyone is surprised; still canโt believe it. Itโs going to be a long night, for sure.
"
FiveThirtyEight's NBA forecast diminished Chicago's playoff probability to 4 percent, giving Detroit an 88 percent chance of returning to the postseason. The real East intrigue lies in a four-team standoff between seeds No. 3 through No. 6.
The Boston Celtics, who handed the Warriors their first home loss of the season, are hanging tight in pursuit of hosting a first-round series. Yet they're tied with the Heat, and the Charlotte Hornets quietly trail by only one game.
Don't sleep on these squads. All four rank inside the top 10 of net rating. With exception to the Hawks, who get another opportunity on Monday, the others have all defeated the top-seeded Cavaliers at least once this season.
With this talented quartet looming alongside the Toronto Raptors, LeBron James will have a tougher path than usual to the NBA Finals.
Western Conference
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 69-9 | --- |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 65-12 | 3.5 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 54-25 | 15.5 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 50-28 | 19 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 42-36 | 27 |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 43-37 | 27 |
| 7 | Dallas Mavericks | 40-38 | 29 |
| 8 | Utah Jazz | 39-39 | 30 |
| In the Hunt | |||
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 38-40 | 31 |
On the flip side, hoops fans will wish to fast-forward past the Western Conference's opening round. Some already fantasizing about a Warriors-San Antonio Spurs showdown might take another step forward.
If their quest to become the best team ever goes disastrously sour, the Warriors could still lose the No. 1 seed to the Spurs, who face them twice. The Warriors, however, haven't lost two in a row this season, so it's highly unlikely they drop four straight.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers are comfortably entrenched into the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds, respectively, so the West's playoff races will take place in the lower tier. Beyond the four feasible contenders belies a five-team mess.
It'd take a monumental collapse to oust the Grizzlies, who have yet to stamp their postseason ticket. Oklahoma City and Los Angeles should prefer a date with Memphis, who holds the worst point differential (-1.6)ย among all current playoff participants, over the Portland Trail Blazers, who clinched a postseason spot with Wednesday's 120-115 win over the Thunder.
The playoffs wouldn't feel the same without Dirk Nowitzki, who has guided the Dallas Mavericks into 14 of the last 15 postseasons. There's also the added treat of a possible Mavericks-Spurs rematch from two years ago, when they provided an epic seven-game series.
The 38-40 Houston Rockets can only hope to salvage a wildly disappointing season by avoiding elimination, even if they're just delaying the inevitable before getting fed to Golden State or San Antonio. Yet the polarizing squad has recently flaunted its immense upside with wins over Toronto, Cleveland and Oklahoma City.ย
As noted by ESPN's Marc Stein, they have demonstrated tremendous resiliency during the down year:
NBA marketing executives will probably prefer the Mavericks and Rockets rounding out the final seeds instead of the Utah Jazz. Even if they fall in short order, Dallas wields a surefire Hall or Famer,ย while Houston's James Harden finished second in last year's MVP voting.
The Warriors and Spurs should also root for the Texas teams. Utah is the only one of the trio to possess a positive scoring margin (+1.9), and only San Antonio relinquishes fewer points per contest than Utah's 95.8.
Even though they lost four games apiece to the Warriors and Spurs, the Jazz have recently pushed both to the limit. On March 30, they sent the Warriors to overtime. On Tuesday, they lost an 88-86 defensive slugfest to the Spurs.
Even if the series only lasts four or five games, Utah would make either juggernaut work extra hard to survive its tenacious defense engineered by rising stars Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.
Note: Advanced stats courtesy of NBA.com.
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