NBA Playoffs 2019: Projecting Each Conference's Seeding Heading into Final Games
Only a handful of games remain in the 2018-19 NBA regular season. By midweek, the season will be over, and by week's end, the playoffs will be underway.
In the Western Conference, all eight playoff teams are set, though there is some shuffling yet to be done. In the East, there is still one spot up for grabs.
The top seed has been clinched in each conference, with the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks each having home-court advantage until the Finals.
Here, you'll find predictions about how the playoff seeding could look after the final few games are played, along with some of the latest playoff-related buzz.
Projected NBA Playoff Seeding
Eastern Conference
1. Milwaukee Bucks
Western Conference
1. Golden State Warriors
5. Utah Jazz
Three-Way Race in the East
There is one playoff spot remaining in the Eastern Conference, and there are three teams—the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons—who can claim it. The Pistons (39-41) have a one-game lead over both Miami and Charlotte.
However, the Pistons have also been in a slump, losing four in a row and seven of their last 10. If Detroit loses to either the Memphis Grizzlies or the New York Knicks—on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively—it risks missing the postseason.
This is primarily because Charlotte owns a 4-0 head-to-head record over Detroit and, therefore, owns the tiebreaker if the two finish with identical records.
The Hornets, by the way, have won three in a row and seven of their last 10. IF they expand their winning streak to five games while the Pistons slip up once, they'll be in the playoffs for only the second time since regaining the Hornets moniker in 2014.
Magic Clinch
The Orlando Magic haven't played in a playoff game since the 2011-12 season. Stan Van Gundy was the head coach then, and Barack Obama was still campaigning for his second term in office.
Well, the Magic are playoff-bound once again. Their 116-108 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday earned them a spot in the dance, which is remarkable considering how lost the team looked early in the season.
"It was overwhelming, and really, it's all about the way we did it," guard Evan Fournier said, via the team's official website. "When we were 20-31 (on the season), we still fought through it with a lot of adversity. ... We're tough. We really wanted it, we kept our composure and we made it."
With one game remaining in the regular season, the Magic have a chance to jump the Brooklyn Nets in the standings. However, Orlando finishes the season with the red-hot Hornets on Wednesday.
Resting Players Could Cost Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets (53-27) have just a half-game lead over the Houston Rockets (53-28) for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. They now have to win both of their remaining games to ensure they don't face the Warriors until the conference finals.
A win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday could have given Denver a little breathing room, but head coach Mike Malone decided to rest two of his best players—Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap.
"They're tired," Malone said, per Jared Crowley of KGW News. "That does not mean we're not here to win."
Resting both Jokic and Millsap could come back to bite the Nuggets in a big way. They still almost stole a win from Portland—they lost by only seven points—and it's difficult to envision Denver losing with both of them on the floor.
If Denver loses even one of its final two games—against the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves—it risks falling to the No. 3 seed. Houston went 3-1 against Denver in head-to-head matchups and therefore will own the tiebreaker if both teams finish with identical records.
Houston, by the way, has now won six in a row and will finish against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
