NBA Standings 2019: Analyzing Late-Season Playoff Races from Each Conference
With less than a week remaining in the NBA regular season, we have a good idea of which teams will be participating in the playoffs.
However, the confirmed participants are nowhere close to having their first-round matchups locked in, as there are plenty of tight races in the Eastern and Western Conferences.
Five teams have clinched playoff spots in the East, while four teams are fighting for the final three positions.
In the West, all eight playoff teams are confirmed, but none of the eight franchises have secured a specific seed yet.
Eastern Conference
1. Milwaukee (58-20)
2. Toronto (56-23)
3. Philadelphia (49-29)
4. Boston (47-32)
5. Indiana (47-32)
6. Detroit (39-39)
7. Brooklyn (39-40)
8. Orlando (39-40)
9. Miami (38-40)
Since Milwaukee and Toronto have locked up the first two spots in the Eastern Conference, and Philadelphia is likely to land the No. 3 seed, the drama in the final week of the regular season will come from the bottom half of the standings.
Brett Brown's 76ers play two of their final four games against the tanking Chicago Bulls, so that should keep them ahead of Boston and Indiana, even if they stumble against Milwaukee and Miami.
The Celtics and the Pacers are most likely going to play each other in the first round, but home-court advantage in that series is still up for grabs.
Both teams have three games left on the schedule, which likely means the winner of Friday's head-to-head showdown at Bankers Life Fieldhouse will take the No. 4 seed.
The race for the final three Eastern Conference playoff spots will go down to the final day of the regular season.
Since the margins are so slim between Detroit, Brooklyn, Orlando and Miami, every game matters down the stretch.
Detroit and Miami have a slight edge at the moment since they have four games left on the schedule compared to three for Brooklyn and Orlando.
If the Pistons find a way to knock off Oklahoma City Friday, they should be safe with Charlotte, Memphis and New York ahead in their final three games.
Orlando could be at risk after Friday's home finale against Atlanta since it heads on the road for its last two games against Boston and Charlotte.
Then there's Brooklyn and Miami, who both have tough finishes to the season that ends with a head-to-head meeting Wednesday at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn has to go on the road to Milwaukee and Indiana before returning home for the season finale, while Miami visits Minnesota and Toronto and hosts Philadelphia in the buildup to the clash with Brooklyn.
If the Nets and Heat are unable to pick up any ground in the next few games, Wednesday's meeting could be for the No. 8 seed.
Western Conference
1. Golden State (53-24)
2. Denver (52-26)
3. Houston (51-28)
4. Portland (50-28)
5. Utah (48-30)
6. Los Angeles Clippers (47-32)
7. Oklahoma City (45-33)
8. San Antonio (45-34)
Nothing is settled in the Western Conference with six days to go in the regular season.
Golden State has five games remaining to clinch the No. 1 seed, while Denver has to make up ground with one fewer contest left.
Steve Kerr's Warriors have a fairly easy finish, with the Los Angeles Clippers being the only playoff team left on their regular-season docket.
Conversely, Denver has two games left against Portland and plays Utah and Minnesota to finish off the schedule.
Since the Nuggets' run into the playoffs is more difficult, there's more of a chance of them dropping in the standings than catching Golden State.
If Portland pulls off back-to-back victories against Denver, it will vault itself into the No. 2 seed discussion alongside Houston.
The best-case scenario for James Harden and the Rockets is for Portland and Denver to split and for them to win out against New York, Phoenix and Oklahoma City.
If that's the case, Houston will move itself to the opposite side of the bracket as Golden State, which could set up an epic Western Conference Finals.
Utah and the Clippers should land the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, but the order is still to be determined.
The Jazz need to beat Sacramento, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver to earn the No. 5 seed before it closes the regular season against the Clippers.
Utah could even get help to earn the No. 5 seed before the regular-season finale if the Warriors down the Clippers Sunday and they win at least two games.
That leaves Oklahoma City and San Antonio to fight for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, unless the Clippers experience a significant drop off over the next six days.
Based off their respective schedules, the Spurs have the advantage to earn the No. 7 seed since they close with Washington, Cleveland and Dallas.
Russell Westbrook and the Thunder still have to play Detroit, Minnesota, Houston and Milwaukee, which is one of the most difficult stretches for any playoff team.
If the Spurs take over the No. 7 seed from the Thunder, we could see Westbrook go up against Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the Warriors in the first round.
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