While most teams around the league have either clinched or been eliminated, the NBA Playoff standings can shake up significantly before the first round gets under way.
The Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors clinched the top seeds a while ago. In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers recently clinched the Central Division and, subsequently, the second seed. Prior to that, the Toronto Raptors clinched the Atlantic Division. Having won three in a row, the Raptors currently hold the third seed in the East, but will be tasked with fighting off the Chicago Bulls, who presently hold the same record.
While the Bulls have won two straight, there is still a possibility they could fall to fifth in the conference. The Washington Wizards have clinched a playoff berth and are two games back from the Bulls. The lowest possible position they can enter the playoffs at is fifth and the highest is fourth. Finishing the regular season on the road against the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wizards are most likely to go into the playoffs without home court advantage as the fifth seed overall. A Bulls win would make that official.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks have climbed back to a .500 record. They have won two straight games and are guaranteed the sixth seed. They finish the regular season in Philadelphia against the 76ers and at home against the Boston Celtics, who are currently two games behind them as the seventh seed in the East. The Bucks, however, have already won the season series against the Celtics, whose magic number to clinch a playoff berth is one. While the final regular season game might not mean anything for the Bucks, it could hold heavy weight for the Celtics, who face off against two playoff teams in the Raptors and Bucks to finish the regular season.
The Brooklyn Nets are hot on their tails as the final team in a playoff position in the East. They will have to fend off a hot pursuit from the Indiana Pacers, who have won five games in a row and have tied the Nets in the standings. However, they will finish the regular season against the Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies. The Miami Heat are the final team in the East who are still in the playoff hunt. They will need to win out and get help from other teams in order to qualify for the postseason.
Over in the Western Conference, the standings have shaken up significantly over the past week of play. The most surprising (but not really) is the San Antonio Spurs, who have won their last 11 games, vaulting to the top of their division and second in the overall standings. In turn, the Grizzlies and Houston Rockets have fallen to fifth and sixth, respectively. The Los Angeles Clippers have also leap-frogged ahead of them and are presently situated third overall among the NBA's powerhouses. In between lies the Portland Trail Blazers, who are guaranteed to enter the postseason as the fourth seed, courtesy of a Northwest Division title. The Dallas Mavericks have locked up the seventh seed, while the New Orleans Pelicans sit in eighth and own the tiebreaker over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The rest of the pack has been eliminated and the Thunder will surely be praising the league office for rescinding a Russell Westbrook suspension and keeping their playoff hopes alive. Both the Thunder and Pelicans face the Minnesota Timberwolves before season's end and the Thunder face the Trail Blazers while the Pelicans finish the regular season at home against the Spurs.
The second-through-sixth seeds in the West will come down to the wire with the exception of the Blazers. The Spurs, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Rockets are nearly all dead even record-wise and, with only two games left in the season, a lot could change. Home court advantage is crucial and something that, at the current moment, the Grizzlies and Rockets have lost a hold of.