NBA Playoff Standings 2019: Latest Team Records, Seeds and Bracket Picture
With two weeks left in the NBA regular season, half of the playoff field in the Eastern and Western Conference has been determined.
It's only a matter of time before the Western Conference field is set, but there's still plenty left to play for in terms of seeding.
The race to watch in the Eastern Conference comes at the bottom of the standings, as four teams are fighting for the final three spots.
A few of the competitions for playoff seedings could come down to the wire, and they might be determined by head-to-head results over the next two weeks.
NBA Playoff Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Milwaukee (55-19)
2. Toronto (51-23)
3. Philadelphia (47-27)
4. Indiana (45-29)
5. Boston (43-31)
6. Detroit (37-36)
7. Brooklyn (38-37)
8. Miami (36-37)
With gaps created between the top six teams in the Eastern Conference, we have a good idea of which teams will land where when the regular season ends.
Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and Indiana are in possession of home-court advantage in the first round, with the Bucks in line to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the East.
Boston has an opportunity to alter the sites of the No. 4 versus No. 5 matchup, as it has two remaining contests with Indiana, with the first one coming Friday at home.
In between their meetings on March 29 and April 5, the Celtics and Pacers have to play home-and-away series with two teams in the middle of the race for the final three playoff spots in the East.
The Celtics open April with two games against the Miami Heat, while the Pacers take on the Detroit Pistons in the same span.
The Pistons and Heat both have an opportunity to shut the door on the Orlando Magic, who sit ninth in the East, as Orlando visits Miami Tuesday and heads to Detroit Thursday.
Victories over the Magic this week are important for the Pistons and Heat in case they slip up in their showdowns with Boston and Indiana.
Orlando has a significantly easier run to end the regular season, as it faces New York, Atlanta and Charlotte in three of its last four games.
But the Magic might not even have an opportunity to jump into the top eight, as their three-game stretch to finish off March ends with a clash against the Pacers.
As long as Orlando is able to survive the week without dropping too far behind Detroit, Brooklyn and Miami, we'll have a contentious sprint to the finish at the bottom half of the East.
Western Conference
1. Golden State (50-23)
2. Denver (49-23)
3. Houston (47-27)
4. Portland (46-27)
5. Utah (44-30)
6. Los Angeles Clippers (44-30)
7. San Antonio (43-31)
8. Oklahoma City (43-31)
The Western Conference playoff field is much more difficult to figure out than the East because of the small gaps in the standings from Houston in third down to Oklahoma City in eighth.
The good news for the eight teams sitting in playoff positions is they should all qualify for the postseason, with ninth-place Sacramento 7.5 games back of the eighth-place Thunder.
Houston could make a run at the No. 2 seed if it knocks off Denver Thursday at Toyota Center, but a loss in that game would lock it into a race with Portland to avoid the No. 4 seed and a playoff semifinal matchup with Golden State.
Portland will be in contention for the No. 3 seed until the end of the regular season because it has a fairly easy schedule, as three of its final nine games are against teams in playoff positions.
The Rockets still have to play Denver, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers, all of whom have something to play for down the stretch.
An easy final collection of games could solidify the No. 5 seed for the Utah Jazz, who play six straight non-playoff teams before ending the regular season against the Nuggets and Clippers.
Although the Clippers sit sixth in the West, they might be forced down to the No. 8 seed based off their end-of-season schedule that includes clashes with the Rockets, Warriors and Jazz.
The Thunder could be at a similar disadvantage, as they conclude the regular season with back-to-back games against the Rockets and Bucks.
San Antonio is in line to be the beneficiary of the tough finishes for the Clippers and Thunder, as they have to play one playoff team in its final eight contests.
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