NBA Playoff Standings 2016: Predicting Final Playoff Seedings
The Western Conference has two slots up for grabs going into the next few days of games, but otherwise it's a straightforward conference headlined by the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
The Eastern Conference is much more convoluted from a seeding standpoint, but everything outside of the last spot is official—though it might as well be.
Here's a look at projected seedings based on recent team performance and upcoming matchups.
NBA Playoff Standings Predictions
| Seed | Team |
| 1 | y -Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2 | y -Toronto Raptors |
| 3 | x -Atlanta Hawks |
| 4 | x -Boston Celtics |
| 5 | x -Charlotte Hornets |
| 6 | x -Miami Heat |
| 7 | x -Detroit Pistons |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers |
| Pos. | Team |
| 1 | z -Golden State Warriors |
| 2 | y -San Antonio Spurs |
| 3 | y -Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 4 | x -Los Angeles Clippers |
| 5 | x -Portland Trail Blazers |
| 6 | x -Memphis Grizzlies |
| 7 | Utah Jazz |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks |
Current standings available at ESPN.com.
The Final Spot in the East Goes to...
Indiana.
Fun, right? The Chicago Bulls are the only threat to steal the eighth seed and just pulled off a 105-102 upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers. But honestly, the dysfunctional Bulls are more in the headlines because the Warriors might break the league win mark than anything else.
The Pacers certainly don't deserve much credit for keeping the spot down the stretch. Case in point—Indiana went to Toronto Friday and took a 111-98 loss, a downright miserable outing, even though the Raptors rested their starters.
Still, all the Pacers have to do is not lose their final three games, meaning get a win at home over Brooklyn or New York or take down Milwaukee on the road. Considering those teams are 21-58, 32-48 and 32-47, respectively, that shouldn't be a problem.
Paul George, who averages 23.3 points, seven boards and four assists per game, won't let the Pacers lose four in a row, even if it means simply getting fed to the Cavaliers in Round 1.
The West's Final Two Seeds
While the West has two seeds open, it isn't as dramatic as one might think.
Thank the Houston Rockets. The outside team looking in, the Association's most confusing team this year has to win all three of its remaining games to stand a chance at qualifying for the playoffs.
In the meantime, James Harden and Co. are left combating questions about how missing the postseason could result in front office changes, a move at head coach and Dwight Howard opting out and leaving the team this summer.
“I don’t think about that,” Harden said, according to ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins. “I think about tomorrow’s game and how we can win and put ourselves in a really good position to make the playoffs.”
It's not so much that Houston's final stretch looks impossible. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota and Sacramento are beatable. It's that they've been the model of inconsistency all season, the biggest disappointment and have lost seven of their last 10 outings.
The other teams in the running don't help. By comparison, the Dallas Mavericks are 7-3 over their last 10 and the Utah Jazz 6-4.
Those two meet Monday in a game that should decide the order of the final two spots. The two have split the season series to this point. Utah gets the nod as the higher seed in the projections, though, because whereas the Jazz have to deal with Denver, Dallas and Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavericks have to fend off the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah and San Antonio.
Utah is one of those teams few expected to make such a run, but somebody has to benefit from Houston's implosion. It helps that the strong core of Alec Burks, Rodney Hood, Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward all average north of 14 points per game.
Dissecting the East Logjam
Four teams between the third and sixth seeds boast 46 wins or more.
There's the Atlanta Hawks, the team that flirted with a fire sale. There's the unexpected Boston Celtics, the product of Danny Ainge's rebuilding plan (paying attention, Philadelphia?). There's the Miami Heat, as expected, and there's the Charlotte Hornets, led by a guy named Jeremy Lin.
ESPN Stats & Info provided a helpful graphic to explain where the four stand when it comes to the desirable third seed:
In reality, not much will change from the current order. The Hawks just keep rolling along, having now taken down Toronto and Boston in consecutive games ahead of a game against Cleveland, a team they lost to in overtime by two points at the start of the month.
Boston isn't dead in the water, though, not with games against Charlotte and Miami left. The Celtics hold a 2-0 mark over both teams this year so far.
The Charlotte-Miami dance for seeding is where things get tricky. Miami has to deal with Orlando, a playoff-bound Detroit team and Boston, whereas Charlotte gets Washington, Boston and Orlando.
Provided both teams beat teams they are supposed to, Charlotte should make the leap ahead.
No matter how the seeds shake out, both look like strong contenders with how shaky every team has looked in the conference at points this year, right on up to the No. 1 seed.
Maybe the madness isn't over just yet.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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