The bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race is getting more and more interesting, particularly after the trade deadline.
The Miami Heat appeared to become a lock for one of the two bottom spots after acquiring Goran Dragic, but they were soon hit with the news that Chris Bosh is out for the year. That removed them from the lock category.
The Brooklyn Nets nearly snagged Reggie Jackson prior to the deadline, but instead only managed to get Thaddeus Young for Kevin Garnett. It was a good trade but might not be enough—because the Detroit Pistons, one of the competitors for the seventh and eighth seeds, did get Jackson; and the Indiana Pacers, finally healthy apart from Paul George, have gotten hot and are looking more and more like the team that finished first in the East last season.
Only one game separates five teams vying for the two last seeds for the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Heat are currently in seventh at 23-31, and the Nets are in eighth at 22-31. But the Pistons (23-33), Pacers (23-33), and Charlotte Hornets (22-32) are all just a half a game behind Brooklyn and a game behind Miami.
With only about 28 games left for each team, the race to earn a playoff berth in the bottom of the East is one of the more compelling storylines as the season winds down.
The reason only two seeds are up for grabs in the East is the large gap—7.5 games—between seventh seed Miami and sixth seed Milwaukee. It’s unlikely the Bucks or the Wizards, who are 1.5 games ahead of Milwaukee, freefall enough to open up another seed.
The Season So Far
