NBA Playoff Standings 2018: Updated Team Records, Seedings and More
Get your cameras ready—the 2017-18 NBA season is sprinting toward a photo finish.
There's less than a month remaining on the campaign's schedule, which closes on April 11. And yet, there are still a ton of teams either fighting for their playoff lives or jostling for better postseason seeds.
The competition level is thicker in one conference than the other, but there's still plenty to be decided in both the East and the West. Only four clubs have claimed playoff berths so far, and five teams on the outside of the postseason picture still have mathematical chances of getting in.
Let's run through the current standings and seedings, then examine some of the biggest storylines surrounding this race.
Eastern Conference Standings
1. x-Toronto Raptors (52-18)
2. x-Boston Celtics (47-23)
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (41-29)
4. Indiana Pacers (41-30)
5. Washington Wizards (40-30)
6. Philadelphia 76ers (39-30)
7. Miami Heat (38-33)
8. Milwaukee Bucks (37-33)
9. Detroit Pistons (31-39)
10. Charlotte Hornets (30-41)
11. e-New York Knicks (26-45)
12. e-Chicago Bulls (24-46)
13. e-Brooklyn Nets (23-48)
14. e-Orlando Magic (21-49)
15. e-Atlanta Hawks (20-50)
Western Conference Standings
1. y-Houston Rockets (56-14)
2. y-Golden State Warriors (53-18)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (44-26)
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (43-29)
5. San Antonio Spurs (41-30)
6. Utah Jazz (40-30)
7. New Orleans Hornets (40-30)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-31)
9. Los Angeles Clippers (37-32)
10. Denver Nuggets (38-33)
11. Los Angeles Lakers (31-39)
12. e-Sacramento Kings (23-49)
13. e-Dallas Mavericks (22-48)
14. e-Memphis Grizzlies (19-51)
15. e-Phoenix Suns (19-52)
*x-clinched a playoff spot; y-clinched a division title; e-eliminated from playoff contention
Streaky Western Conference
The NBA has five teams with active winning streaks of four games or longer. All of them belong to Western Conference teams, each of which are positioned among its top six seeds.
No one is hotter than the Portland Trail Blazers, who carry a 13-game win streak into Tuesday's matchup with the top-seeded Houston Rockets, a club riding five consecutive victories.
The Blazers' last loss came before the All-Star break, and their post-intermission efficiency ranks put them third in net rating, second on defense and 10th at the other end. Portland has been predictably guided by the potent backcourt combo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who are averaging a combined 50.9 points, 9.7 assists (against 4.1 turnovers), 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 threes (on 39.7 percent shooting).
"We're a lot more mature and I think it shows in the way we've been playing, how we've been winning games, and how we're reacting to winning all these games," forward Moe Harkless said, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. "We're happy with what we've been doing, but we're not satisfied."
That's the perfect mindset to have, particularly with stiff competition on deck. If Portland survives its home tilt with Houston, the streak will next be tested against the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Utah Jazz are next in the streaking line with nine consecutive victories and counting. OKC has pushed its own streak to six games, while the San Antonio Spurs are sitting on four straight wins following Monday's 89-75 triumph over the Golden State Warriors.
Rockets Tightening Grip on No. 1
You might have heard this stat a million times, but we'll make it a-million-and-one for its sheer absurdity—Houston is 38-2 when James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela all hit the hardwood.
For context, that's a 77.9-win pace. Eat your heart out, 2015-16, 73-win Dubs.
Houston hasn't assumed control of the top spot in net efficiency, but its deficit behind Golden State has dwindled to a mere 0.5 points per 100 possessions (plus-9.6 to plus-9.1).
Head coach Mike D'Antonti's up-tempo, three-point-bombing style has yielded the league's most potent attack. Turns out, having an offense spearheaded by not one, but two superstar point guards (James Harden and Chris Paul) equates to an embarrassment of riches.
"They make the game so much easier," Rockets forward P.J. Tucker said, per Bleacher Report's Kelly Scaletta. "They get so much attention and keep the ball intact. For role players like me, it makes the game easier. You just spot up and shoot your threes."
Considering Houston also sports a top-10 defense now (ninth in efficiency, up nine spots from last season), this could be the greatest threat Golden State has encountered during its three-plus-year run of dominance. (Or the greatest non-LeBron James threat, at least.)
Speaking of the Warriors, they're just 2-4 over their last six games, and their litany of injuries could keep them trending the wrong direction. Stephen Curry (ankle), Kevin Durant (rib) and Klay Thompson (thumb) have all been forced to the sidelines.
Given the two trajectories of the teams and the 3.5-game gap between them, the race for the West's top spot might already be over.
Pistons, Hornets Running on Fumes
The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat shouldn't feel this comfortable about their playoff odds. Not when they've collectively split their last 20 contests.
But they're breathing as easily as No. 7 and 8 seeds can this time of year due to a lack of legitimate threats.
Remember when the Detroit Pistons had seemingly changed their fortunes with the Blake Griffin acquisition? Not so much, apparently.
They've gone just 8-13 since Griffin made his Motor City debut on Feb. 1, and his on-court efficiency rating is perilously close to water-treading (plus-0.1 over 706 minutes). The twin-towers tandem of Griffin and Andre Drummond has been even worse (minus-0.2 in 506 minutes).
There's no sign of things improving—this season or beyond.
"Griffin and Andre Drummond can (kinda) fit—just not with this surrounding talent," ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote. "Bad news: Detroit is in cap hell through 2019-20, with no realistic means of rejiggering that surrounding talent."
The Charlotte Hornets have disappointed all season, so their recent 2-8 stretch feels a little like par for the course.
Still, this is frustrating on multiple levels.
For starters, Charlotte preceded this 10-game dumpster fire with a season-high five-game winning streak. Granted, it was mostly beating up on non-playoff teams—plus the John Wall-less Washington Wizards—but at least Buzz City had something to buzz about.
This all comes back to an organizational failure to surround All-Star Kemba Walker with the necessary talent. He's one of the league's premier bargains at a $12 million salary, but that doesn't matter when Dwight Howard, Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Cody Zeller are set to collect nearly $85 million this season, per Basketball Insiders.
It might appear as if the Heat and Bucks are leaving the door open, but no one is walking through it.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com.
