The Eastern Conference
Three games separate the six teams currently seeded third through eighth. How will everything shake out based on the remaining schedules?
The Boston Celtics (41-34, currently the
third seed)
Boston is three games ahead of Philadelphia for the Atlantic division title
and the third seed. Even if they get the third seed, however, they would face
the sixth seed (currently Washington) but might not have home court advantage,
if the sixth seed has a better record than Boston. They play Philadelphia
Tuesday in an important game: the Celtics are already 0-3 against the Sixers
this season so they would lose a tiebreaker if the two clubs ended up with the
same record, hence every game, especially against them, counts double. Of their
remaining seven games, three are against teams currently in the playoffs
(Philadelphia, Miami, and Cleveland), one is against a team has been eliminated
from the playoffs (Milwaukee) and two are against bubble teams (New Jersey
(twice) and Toronto).
The Chicago Bulls (43-32, currently the
fourth seed)
Chicago has a better record than Boston but because it is behind
second-place overall Detroit in the Central division, the best it can do is the
fourth seed. At this point, they would face the fifth seed Indiana and would
enjoy home court advantage. Of their remaining seven games, three are against
teams currently in the playoffs (Detroit, Washington, and Indiana), two are
against teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs (New York and
Atlanta), and two are against bubble teams (Toronto and Orlando).
The Indiana Pacers (41-34, currently the
fifth seed)
Indiana is in a three-way tie with Boston and Washington in terms of record,
but because there are already two teams in its own division with a better
record, it can do no better than the fifth seed unless they overcome the Bulls.
Of their remaining seven games, three are against teams currently in the
playoffs (Philadelphia, Miami, and Chicago), one is against a team that has been
eliminated from the playoffs (New York), and three are against bubble teams
(Toronto, New Jersey, and Orlando).
The Washington Wizards (41-34, currently the
sixth seed)
Washington has fallen from the fourth seed to the sixth seed very quickly
and are hoping to end their four-game losing streak as soon as possible. At this
point, they are just waiting for the playoffs to start and hopefully get
healthy. Of their remaining seven games, three are against teams currently in
the playoffs (Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cleveland), three are against teams
that have been eliminated from the playoffs (Milwaukee, Charlotte, and New
York), and one is against a bubble team (New Jersey).
The Philadelphia 76ers (38-37, currently the
seventh seed)
The Sixers have won the season series against the Celtics but are trailing
them by three games for the Atlantic Division title. If Philadelphia overtakes
Washington and gets into the sixth seed, it would be a very unusual situation as
they would face the Atlantic Division champs but, with a better or even tied
record, would have the home court advantage! Of their remaining seven games,
four are against teams currently in the playoffs (Washington, Boston, Miami, and
Indiana), two are against teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs
(Milwaukee and Atlanta), and one is against a bubble team (New Jersey).
The Cleveland Cavaliers (38-37, currently the
eighth seed)
The Cavs are hoping they don't pull a repeat of last year and slide right
out of the playoffs in the final few weeks, though with their three consecutive
losses and New Jersey's two consecutive wins, their grasp on the final seed is
down to just 2.5 games. Of their seven remaining games, three are against teams
currently in the playoffs (Boston, Detroit, and Washington), two are against
teams that has been eliminated (Milwaukee and New York), and two are against
bubble teams (Orlando and Toronto).
SUMMARY
So here's the summary of the remaining schedules:
Boston: 3 playoffs, 1 eliminated, 3 bubble
Chicago: 3 playoffs, 2 eliminated, 2 bubble
Indiana: 3 playoffs, 1 eliminated, 3 bubble
Washington: 3 playoffs, 3 eliminated, 1 bubble
Philadelphia: 4 playoffs, 2 eliminated, 1 bubble
Cleveland: 3 playoffs, 2 eliminated, 2 bubble
If we assume far too simplistically that each team will lose all playoff games, win all eliminated games, and split all bubble games (with rounding error counting as wins), then the resulting records in two weeks time will look like this:
Boston: 44-38
Chicago: 46-36
Indiana: 44-38
Washington: 45-37
Philadelphia: 41-41
Cleveland: 41-41