A look at the playoff picture entering play Monday, March 30. There are 19 days until the playoffs begin.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Locks: Atlanta Hawks (No. 1 seed, Eastern Conference, home court throughout conference playoffs)
Cleveland Cavaliers (playoff berth)
Chicago Bulls (playoff berth)
Toronto Raptors (Atlantic Division championship, top four seed, tiebreaker advantage over non-division winners)
Current matchups
(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (8) Brooklyn Nets
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Miami Heat
(3) Chicago Bulls vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks
(4) Toronto Raptors vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks
No. 1 seed: The Hawks are locked as the No. 1 seed. As long as the Hawks are in the conference playoffs, they'll have home-court advantage. Incredible season for them. Now it's time to get rest, as they did Saturday by resting all their starters vs. the Hornets.
No. 2 seed: Cleveland is in good shape for the No. 2 seed; their magic number for the Central Division and the second seed over Chicago is 6. The loss to the Nets last week was random, but they're still in the driver's seat. But it should be noted, the Bulls are now just 2.5 games back of the second seed.
Relevant games Monday: None
Nos. 3-5: So yeah, the Bulls get another easy win over the Knicks and are just 2.5 back of the second seed, but Cleveland is in the lead for tiebreaker. The Cavs and Bulls play next Sunday.
The Raptors didn't make it impressive on Friday; they struggled with the Lakers for two-plus quarters, but eventually reason won out. With the win, they clinch the Atlantic Division for the second year in a row, a top-four seed (but not home court) and tiebreaker over non-division winning teams. That means that even though Chicago has swept the Raptors this season, if they tie for the No. 3 seed, Toronto gets it, because they won the worst division ever imagined. Congratulations, Toronto, you did it.
(But seriously, that's a nice accomplishment for an underdog team and it does help them in getting home court.)
The Wizards lost Sunday, and the Nets won, so the Wizards' magic number remains stuck at one. They're now four games back of the Bulls and 2.5 back of the Raptors. It continues to look unlikely that Washington will have home court.
Bulls' magic number for no worse than the third seed is 8.
Raptors' magic number for no worse the fourth seed (and home court) is 6.
Wizards' magic number for no worse than the fifth seed is 4.
Relevant games Monday: Celtics at Hornets, Rockets at Raptors, Bucks at Hawks.
Nos. 6-8: Milwaukee has had a huge week, despite losing to the Warriors Saturday. Beating Miami on Tuesday and then Indiana on Wednesday may have secured them a playoff spot. To make things even better, the Heat got pantsed by the Hawks on Friday. Milwaukee's magic number is down to six for a playoff spot and you can expect at least three more losses from all the remaining teams below them. Their magic number for the sixth spot is 7. That's a great spot if they play Toronto. It's a terrible spot if they play Chicago.
Miami dug deep to get a win over the Pistons on Sunday despite their injuries, and the Celtics got creamed by the Clippers. Miami's magic number has dropped to single digits. It's eight. They still trail the Bucks by two games.
Chaos reigns again for the eighth seed, still. The Celtics loss and the Nets win means the Nets move into the eighth spot by a half-game while the Celtics, Pacers and Hornets are all tied in the loss column with 41 losses. A bunch of these teams play each other this week so we should have a clearer picture by next Monday of who's in and who's out.
Relevant games Monday: Celtics at Hornets, Bucks at Hawks.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Locks: Warriors (playoff berth, division title, No. 1 overall seed, Western Conference)
Grizzlies (playoff berth)
Rockets (playoff berth)
Clippers (playoff berth)
Current matchups
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (8) Oklahoma City Thunder
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks
(3) Memphis Grizzlies vs. (6) San Antonio Spurs
(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers
No. 1 seed: The Warriors clinched home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs Saturday with a win over Milwaukee. They're in cruise control from here on out.
No. 2 and No. 3 seed: Memphis lost to the Spurs and the Rockets beat the Wizards, so Houston takes over the third seed. The two split the season series head to head, so the tiebreaker then goes to division. The Grizzlies are 8-7 on the year, the Rockets 6-6. It could very well come down to whether Memphis beats the Pelicans later in the season or how the Rockets do with two consecutive games vs. the Spurs. But for right now, Houston's in the driver's seat for the 2-seed.
Relevant games Monday: Rockets at Raptors, Kings at Grizzlies
Nos. 4-6: Portland keeps dragging out wins, this time a tough one at home vs. the Nuggets. The Clippers are technically 1.5 games in the standings but behind in win percentage. The good news is Portland's magic number for the division is only 3 over the Thunder, and if they win it, that automatically gives them tiebreaker over any non-division winner.
Their magic number for a playoff spot is 1. They clinch Monday with a win.
The Clippers have won six straight, and even if they can't get past Houston and Memphis and Portland wins the division, the Clippers can still get home court in the first round over Portland, even as the No. 5 seed. (Because the NBA is insane in its arcane devotion to divisions, if you win the division you automatically get a top-four seed but it doesn't guarantee you home court.) They lead Portland by a full-game for home court in the first-round.
The Clippers clinched a playoff spot on Friday.
San Antonio laid waste to the Grizzlies on Sunday and continued its tear. The Spurs trail the Clippers by 1.5 games for the fifth seed. They trail Portland by only a half-game, but remember that doesn't matter since Portland as division winner (provided they win it) automatically gets a top-four seed. So even if the Clippers and Spurs finish with a better record, whoever is higher will face Portland in the 4-5 matchup with home-court advantage.
San Antonio can basically select its first-round opponent. The Spurs' magic number for a playoff spot is 2.
Relevant games Monday: Kings at Grizzlies, Suns at Blazers
No. 7 seed: Dallas is nearly locked into the seventh seed. The Mavericks have a three-game lead over the Thunder and are 2.5 games back of San Antonio, which isn't a lot, but Dallas also hasn't played well for the past two months. They blew a gimme game Sunday vs. the Pacers that has to have them kicking themselves.
The Mavericks' magic number for no worse than seventh (and to avoid the Warriors) is three.
Relevant games Monday: None.
No. 8 seed: So long, Suns. The Suns blew a 20-point lead vs. the Thunder, at home, and dropped to four-back of the Thunder, and OKC secured tiebreaker advantage, making it 4.5. The Suns would need a miracle to make the playoffs. Their tragic number is four.
The Pelicans eked out another win and just won't go away. It may come down to whether OKC can win enough tough games or how many easy games the Pelicans can lose. They've both been good in those respective areas this season.
Relevant games Monday: Suns at Blazers.
