NBA Playoff Standings 2018: Latest Team Records, Seeds and Bracket Picture
Like a five-star restaurant, seats at the 2018 NBA playoff table are filling fast.
Seven have already been claimed, and there's a crowd clamoring to get one of the final nine. The competition is already fierce, and things will only get more hectic as we move closer to April 11's season-ending 12-game slate.
Out East, the eight participants can probably be written in permanent marker. A five-game gap sits between the eighth-seeded Miami Heat and ninth-seeded Detroit Pistons, and it feels like the Grand Canyon at this point of the hoops calendar.
But it's a different story out West where only 2.5 games separate the seventh-seeded Utah Jazz from the 10th-seeded Los Angeles Clippers. One expertly timed hot streak or horribly timed cold spell could still shake up the field.
Let's run through the latest standings and seedings, then highlight two teams in the mix heading in opposite directions.
NBA Standings
Eastern Conference
1. x-Toronto Raptors: 54-20
2. x-Boston Celtics: 51-23
3. x-Cleveland Cavaliers: 44-29
4. x-Philadelphia 76ers: 43-30
5. x-Indiana Pacers: 43-31
6. Washington Wizards 40-33
7. Milwaukee Bucks: 39-34
8. Miami Heat: 39-35
9. Detroit Pistons: 34-40
10. Charlotte Hornets: 34-41
11. e-New York Knicks: 27-48
12. e-Chicago Bulls: 24-49
13. e-Brooklyn Nets: 23-51
14. e-Orlando Magic: 22-51
15. e-Atlanta Hawks: 21-53
Western Conference
1. y-Houston Rockets: 60-14
2. y-Golden State Warriors: 54-19
3. Portland Trail Blazers: 45-28
4. Oklahoma City Thunder: 44-31
5. New Orleans Pelicans: 43-31
6. San Antonio Spurs: 43-31
7. Utah Jazz: 42-32
8. Minnesota Timberwolves: 42-33
9. Denver Nuggets: 40-34
10. Los Angeles Clippers: 39-34
11. e-Los Angeles Lakers: 32-41
12. e-Sacramento Kings: 24-50
13. e-Dallas Mavericks: 22-51
14. e-Memphis Grizzlies: 20-54
15. e-Phoenix Suns: 19-56
Stock Watch
Stock Up: Philadelphia 76ers
What's better than stampeding through the month of March with six consecutive victories? Extending that streak to seven straight and having the Association's No. 1 pick return from a five-plus-month absence to supply 10 points, eight assists and four rebounds in the latest triumph.
The Sixers looked scary enough as it is. Six different players were averaging double figures during that six-game surge, including All-Star Joel Embiid (21.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks) and Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons (13.2 points, 11.8 assists and 10.0 rebounds).
But the long-awaited return of top pick Markelle Fultz from a shoulder injury shifts Philly's excitement into overdrive.
That Fultz registered a plus-16 in 14 minutes against a Denver Nuggets team fighting for its playoff life adds credence to the exhilaration.
"He showed signs of why he was the first player chosen," Sixers coach Brett Brown said, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Obviously, the game is fast and elite at this stage, and that's a good team. But the night could not have worked out better."
The same might soon be said of Philly's Process as a whole.
The Sixers have the Eastern Conference's best net rating since the All-Star break (plus-7.9, fourth overall). They also have one of the Association's elite high-volume lineups in Simmons, Embiid, J.J. Redick, Robert Covington and Dario Saric. Among the 32 lineups to log 250-plus minutes, only two have better net ratings than this quintet (plus-21.1).
It's too soon to tell what Fultz can add to the mix. He didn't attempt a free throw or a three in his return, so it's impossible to say whether his scrutinized mechanics have improved.
But given how things are trending in the City of Brotherly Love, this squad looks like a tricky playoff matchup with or without Fultz.
Stock Down: Minnesota Timberwolves
Only one of the West's top-10 teams has a losing record over its last 10 games.
It's the Minnesota Timberwolves. And they just low-lighted that 4-6 stretch with a 101-93 loss to the tank-tastic Memphis Grizzlies.
It was the Grizzlies' first road win of 2018. And it came less than a week after they suffered a 61-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
There's no sugarcoating this dumpster fire.
Sure, the Wolves are missing All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler—their most important player at both ends, who's sidelined by knee surgery. But that hardly excuses losing the fourth quarter by a 23-11 margin to a team that only recently snapped a 19-game losing streak.
Minnesota has issues.
It sits just seven spots from the bottom in defensive efficiency. And, in typical Tom Thibodeau fashion, it utilizes its bench less than anyone.
It's not all doom and gloom, of course. Butler is still targeting a return before season's end. And only one team faces a softer schedule down the stretch, per Tankathon.com.
But if the Wolves can't find their way past the listless Grizzlies when the stakes are this high, there's little reason for optimism in the Gopher State.
Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com.
