The NBA season is coming to a close in a week and teams are battling for playoff seeds. This includes teams just trying to get into the play-in games, teams trying to get in the top six to avoid the play in, and teams at the top looking to improve their ranking.
Teams at the Top
At the top of the Eastern Conference we already have all of the one through five teams set. Milwaukee secured the top spot followed by Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and then New York at No. 5.
The Western Conference is a different story. Denver has been holding the No. 1 spot for a long time but they have been struggling. With a couple more losses and a couple more Memphis wins, the Grizzlies could pass them up in the final week.
Teams Fighting for a Guaranteed Playoff Series
The Heat have a chance to make it to the sixth seed and guarantee they make the playoffs here in the last week. Brooklyn finds themselves 1.5 games ahead but with a couple losses and Miami wins, these teams could flip flop.
The West again is a lot closer. Four teams are battling for two final guaranteed playoff spots as five and six seeds. Those teams are the Clippers, Warriors, Lakers, and Pelicans. Just one game separates the five-seed Clippers from the eight-seed Pelicans right now. The last handful of games will matter a lot for all these teams.
Teams Fighting to Make the Play In
The East is basically set here. The Magic are 3.5 games behind the Bulls for the 10th spot. So Orlando at 11 and everyone below them are already out.
The West is different again. One of the favorites just a month ago in the Dallas Mavericks now find themselves out of the play-in games and in the 11th spot. To get to the 10th spot they will need to win both their games and need the Thunder to lose one of their two remaining games. Also, the Mavericks could win one of their two games and have the Thunder lose both.
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