The NBA playoffs don’t start for a while now--most teams have about 26 games left--but let’s check out who would play who if the playoffs did start today.
Eastern Conference
-Indiana Pacers (43-13) vs Atlanta Hawks (26-30)
-Miami Heat (40-14) vs Charlotte Bobcats (27-30)
-Toronto Raptors (32-25) vs Brooklyn Nets (26-28)
-Chicago Bulls (30-26) vs Washington Wizards (29-28)
Western Conference
-Oklahoma City Thunder (43-14) vs Phoenix Suns (33-23)
-San Antonio Spurs (40-16) vs Dallas Mavericks (35-32)
-Houston Rockets (39-18) vs Golden State Warriors (35-22)
-Los Angeles Clippers (39-20) vs Portland Trailblazers (39-18)
There are teams in both conferences who could get in before the season is over.
The Memphis Grizzlies are 31-24 in the West, just behind the Suns.
In the East, the Detroit Pistons (23-34) are within a couple games of the Hawks. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks both have 36 losses now, and are falling out of contention unless they go on big winning streaks.
There’s also some teams that are looking at moving higher, such as the Raptors (three game winning streak), Wizards (four game streak), and Bobcats (four game streak).
In the West, the Blazers have a three game winning streak, while the Warriors have won four straight and the Mavericks have won three straight.
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