It’s April and the National Basketball Association Playoffs are just a few days away.
However, all is not yet set in stone as teams from both conferences continue to jockey for playoff positioning and for a post-season ticket.
The biggest story of the season thus far is the marvelous campaign of defending champions Golden State Warriors, who are not only looking to secure the overall top seed and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs but are also looking to surpass the best regular season record by a team set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who finished at 72-10.
The Warriors, who already clinched the Pacific Division title for the second straight year, are currently standing at 68-7, as of this writing, are on pace to beat the Bulls’ record but they still need to finish the season with at least a 5-2 run to eclipse Chicago and carve themselves in the history books as the winningest team in the regular season.
They are not motivated just by that, they still need to win a couple more games to lock the top seed in the Western Conference as the likewise very impressive second-running San Antonio Spurs, currently at 63-13, still have an outside shot of chasing the top-ranking. What’s interesting is that the two powerhouses, who are the clear favorites to fight it out in the West, are still to play each other twice as the season winds down.
Aside from those top two teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers, who are at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, are the other ones in the West who have secured a spot in the playoffs and it seems like they will end up where they’re at now in terms of positioning.
The Memphis Grizzlies, who is at No. 5, seem to be on its way to the playoffs as well with a win or two and it also looks like they will stay right where they are.
It gets interesting after that as four teams, who are tightly chasing each other, are battling it out for the last three playoff spots at No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8.
Currently, the Portland Trail Blazers (39-36) are at No. 6, the Utah Jazz (39-39) are at No. 7 and the underachieving Houston Rockets (37-38) hold the last berth at No. 8 . The Dallas Mavericks (36-38) are on the outside looking in and are only half-game behind the Rockets for No. 8.
Over at the other side, defending Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Cavaliers (52-22) are leading the race and are the top seeds there for almost the entire season but second-running Toronto Raptors (49-24) still have a good shot of stealing the top spot with plenty of games to be played out.
The Cavs must finish solidly to hold off the Raptors and clinch homecourt advantage in the East throughout. Those two along with third ranked Atlanta Hawks are all safely in the post-season already.
Below them, the teams are chasing both the last homecourt advantage remaining and most importantly, a sure seat in the top eight.
The Miami Heat (43-30) currently holds the No. 4 seed but the Boston Celtics (43-31) and the Charlotte Hornet (43-31) are not far behind at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.
Four teams are then fighting it out for East’s last two playoff berths.
At the moment, the Detroit Pistons (40-35) and the Indiana Pacers (39-35) are holding on to them, No. 7 and No. 8 spots, but the Chicago Bulls (37-37) and the Washington Wizards (36-38) are still in contention and can still make a push to enter the top eight.
With still over two more weeks of regular season play, a lot can still happen and the placings of the teams are likely to be shaken up.
Still, the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, Clippers are the favorites in the West while the Cavs and Raptors are expected to do damage in the playoffs over at the East.