NBA news: Daily updates to this playoff picture, tracking everything from current to projected play-in/first-round matchups
NBA news: The Lakers and Nets are both expected to be play-in teams, while the Celtics are the top four seeds.
We're just over a month away from the completion of the 2021-22 NBA regular season, and everything is up in the air in both conferences, except for the Phoenix Suns, who seem certain to be the No. 1 overall seed.
Western conference
Phoenix Suns (No. 1)
With 18 games to go, the Phoenix leads the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies in the losing column by nine games. It also has a nine-loss advantage over the Miami Heat, the formerly current top team. Post season overall Sun is sure to have a seed total of 1.
No. 2 Seed: Grizzlies, Warriors
Memphis matches with No. 3 Golden State in terms of defeat, but it owns the No. 2 seed as it has one more win. If a tiebreaker is required, the Grizzlies are currently leading the season 2-1, with one game remaining on March 28. However, this race is far from being completed.
The Warriors have lost nine of their last 12 matches and are now struggling for a place in the top four after battling the Suns for the No. 1 seed. Golden State has a two-game advantage over No. 4 Utah and a three-game lead over No. 5 Dallas in the loss column.
NBA News: Current Playoff Teams
Utah Jazzu
Utah has won seven of its last ten matches and is only two games behind No. 2 Memphis in the standings. The Jazz No. 6, on the other hand, is only two games ahead of Denver.
Dallas Mavericks
For more than two months, the Mavericks have been on fire, winning five and 24 of their last 31 matches in a row. Despite this, they are only one game ahead of the No. 6 Nuggets in the loss column. 4 Jazz on Wednesday, are still in contention for a top-four berth.
Denver Nuggets
7 Timberwolves, Denver is in good shape to avoid a play-in series, while Minnesota currently have a game remaining with a 2-1 head-to-head lead. 1 April.
NBA News: Current Sports - In Teams (Wolves, Clippers, Lakers & Pelicans)
Wolves still have a chance to reach No. 6 Denver, three points behind in the losing column with one game remaining, but it appears they will have to play their way back into the field. The good news is that they appear to be in good shape to finish as the No. 7 seed, a four-loss advantage over the No. 8 Clippers.
The Clippers are firmly in eighth place, trailing No. 7 Wolves from four losses and No. 9 leading the Lakers to three (which is effectively four above the Lakers, with the Clippers going head-to-head). Tiebreaker is achieved).
Well, it appears that the Lakers are most likely to advance to the play-in rounds. 10 seed, but they have a four-loss advantage over Spurs in the standings. Number 11 in the Lakers' loss column is just three points ahead of the Blazers.
The Pelicans are two games behind the No. 9 Lakers in the standings and two games ahead of the No. 12 Spurs. The Spurs still have two games left against New Orleans. The Blazers are once again in 11th place, although it is widely believed that they are in tank mode and will be out of the race.
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Seeds (Heat, Sixers, Bucks & Bulls)
Miami have won eight of their last ten matches. It is three games ahead of both the No. 2 Sixers and No. 3 Bucks, and the No. 4 Bulls by 4.5 games. In their recent loss to Miami, the Sixers rested James Harden, which is unexpected as they are chasing the Heat for the No. 1 spot.
With two one-on-one matches remaining, the Bucks have a 1.5-game lead over the Bulls for the No. 3 spot. With one game remaining, Milwaukee is one game behind the No. 2 Sixers in the losing column. The Bulls, who were the No. 1 seed a while back, have lost some steam in their last ten games and are now down for a one-game advantage.
NBA News: Current Playoff Teams
Boston Celtics
7 Raptors, the Celtics are confident in their ability to survive the play-in rounds. According to SportsLine's projections, Boston would eventually beat Chicago for number four.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs and the No. 5 Celtics matched in a loss, but Boston has already achieved the tiebreaker, and there are no one-on-one matches on the schedule anymore.
NBA News: Current Sports - In Teams (Raptors, Nets, Hornets & Hawks)
The Raptors are four games behind the No. 6 Cavaliers (Cleveland have a tiebreaker) and face a play-in meeting with the No. 8 Nets, who could be in the Ben Simmons lineup by then. To avoid a play-in series, the Nets have lost themselves a huge hole. They are currently three games behind the No. 7 Raptors.
The Hornets are one game behind the No. 8 Nets in the standings. They also have another loss to No. 10 Atlanta, despite the fact that they are currently the No. 9 seed. The Hawks are fighting for a spot in the play-in game first and foremost. With only one one-on-one encounter, they beat the No. 11 Wizards in the defeat column by one game.