NBA Playoffs 2018: Breaking Down Potential First-Round Matchups

The NBA standings have featured some odd results over the years. The 1975-76 Milwaukee Bucks won the Midwest Division and earned the Western Conference's No. 2 seed with a 38-44 record. The Baltimore Bullets also went 38-44 in 1971-72 en route to a division title and No. 2 seed in the East.

Things got a little tougher a few decades later, as the Houston Rockets failed to make the playoffs despite a 45-37 record in 2000-01.

Things are a bit weird this year: With two regular-season weeks remaining, the fourth-through-eighth seeds in the Western Conference standings are within two games of each other.

In the East, it's conceivable that the current three-through-five seeds could all finish with the same record, and that's also possible for seeds six through eight. Meanwhile, both the East and West have two teams that separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

We'll take a look at the most recent standings below and picture what the playoffs would look like if the season ended today. Hopefully, a few of these matchups still come to fruition, as they promise to be entertaining.

NBA First-Round Matchups (If Season Ended Today)

Eastern Conference: No. 1 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 8 Milwaukee Bucks

These two teams met in the first round last year, with the Raptors taking the series in six. The circumstances are a bit different this time around, as the Raptors are a much stronger team that could win 60 games. The Bucks have been up and down all year, but they got forward Jabari Parker back for the stretch run.

Still, the Raps' team defense and bench could turn this hypothetical series into a short one. In particular, backup guard Fred VanVleet is a starting-caliber guard who might be the X-factor en route to a deep Raptor run.

Eastern Conference: No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 5 Indiana Pacers

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid could be back in two weeks following an orbital fracture and concussion suffered in a nasty collision with teammate Markelle Fultz last Wednesday.

That would put Embiid back into the mix just in time for the start of the playoffs (or maybe a game or two into the first round).

With Embiid, a 76ers-Indiana Pacers series might be no contest, as Philadelphia is rolling on a 10-game win streak right now. But even without him, Philadelphia should have the edge, as star point guard and nightly triple-double threat Ben Simmons is proving to be impossible to guard lately.

Eastern Conference: No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are a bit of an enigma. They're capable of beating tough competition (most notably a win at Toronto) but can sometimes play down to their opponents (such as their most recent home loss against the Brooklyn Nets).

It wouldn't be a massive shock to see Miami pull off a first-round series upset against the Boston Celtics, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the C's sweep the Heat out of the playoffs. Ultimately, Boston is the best bet here given its deep bench and tough defense.

Eastern Conference: No. 3 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 6 Washington Wizards

One of the best individual performances of the NBA season occurred when these two teams met, as LeBron James dropped 57 on the Wizards en route to a 130-123 Cleveland Cavaliers win in November.

Both teams have gone through a lot since then: The Cavs overhauled their team at the deadline, while Wizards point guard John Wall has suffered injuries that have forced him to miss half the season.

But with Wall returning just in time for the playoffs, this could be a fun series in which both teams score well over 100 every night. Hopefully, this one would go the full seven games.

Western Conference: No. 1 Houston Rockets vs. No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans

With center DeMarcus Cousins, the New Orleans Pelicans would have an outside shot at taking down the Houston Rockets in a playoff series. Unfortunately, Cousins is out for the year with an Achilles injury, leaving the Pels short-handed against the team with the league's best record.

New Orleans might win a game based off a super-human performance from star big man Anthony Davis, but likely MVP James Harden and the Rockets are simply too strong.

Western Conference: No. 4 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 5 Oklahoma City Thunder

It's a battle between the old guard of the San Antonio Spurs and an Oklahoma City Thunder team whose new big three didn't pan out as well as hoped. The Thunder have been up and down all season, with three win streaks of six victories or more and two four-game losing streaks.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are pressing on without star forward Kawhi Leonard, whose quad injury forced him to miss all but nine games this year. Per Wojnarowski, there is no timetable for his return.

This series could go the full seven games, with Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook and Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge each taking turns dominating. In the end, the slight edge may go to the team with the extra home game, which would be the Spurs in this case.

Western Conference: No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers vs. No. 6 Utah Jazz

The face-off between Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is worth the price of admission alone, but this would be an excellent first-round series for other reasons as well.

Namely, we'd get to see two of the best coaches in the game (Portland's Terry Stotts and Utah's Quin Snyder) match wits, in addition to big-man battles down low between Utah's Rudy Gobert and Portland's Jusuf Nurkic.

Utah can pull off the upset if Mitchell has one of his patented hot streaks where he nails three-pointers and posterizes players, but Portland has been on fire of late, winning 32 of its past 45 matchups.

Western Conference: No. 2 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves

Both teams have suffered serious injuries to star players. Per Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune, Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler has been cleared for contact following a right knee injury suffered against Houston in late February. There is no set timetable for his return as of yet.

For the Golden State Warriors, point guard Steph Curry's MCL sprain will force him to miss the first round of the playoffs, per head coach Steve Kerr. Curry is undoubtedly a big loss, but the Warriors have the luxury of having three other All-Stars in Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Provided that trio stays healthy for the postseason, the Dubs should win this series.