Written by Matt Moore at CBSSports.com
The NBA playoffs begin in four days. The races are tightening, the seeds are being sorted out, the picture is slowly becoming clear. With that, here’s a look at the current playoff picture, and what to know about each team that’s in, or in the running for a spot.
Some quick notes:
- Golden State locked the No. 1 seed and home court throughout the playoffs. Most of the West is locked.
- The following series are locked in the Western Conference: (2) Spurs vs. (7) Grizzlies, (3) Rockets vs. (6) Thunder, (4/5) Jazz vs. (5/4) Clippers (home court TBD), (1) Golden State vs. (8) Portland.
- The Clippers and Jazz won Monday, so homecourt will go down to Wednesday night. A Clippers win or Jazz loss secures homecourt for L.A.
- The Wizards and Raptors are locked as the Nos. 4 and 5 in the Eastern Conference, respectively.
- The Cavaliers, in profoundly silly style, lost twice to Atlanta over the weekend and after resting players vs. Miami, now are one-game back of the 1-seed.
- Boston controls its destiny for the 1-seed. Win, and they have homecourt throughout the East. They also get the 1-seed with a Cavs loss.
- The Eastern Conference … is where things go nuts.
Eastern Conference scenarios
No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed
- If the Cavs win and Boston loses: The Cavs are the 1-seed.
- If the Cavs win and Boston wins: The Celtics are the 1-seed.
- If the Cavs lose: The Celtics are the one seed.
No. 3 seed goes to the Raptors (locked)
No. 4 seed goes to the Wizards (locked).
Nos. 5, 6 and 7
So Atlanta can’t fall further than 7th. They have tiebreaker over the Bucks, and play the Pacers in the final game Wednesday, series tied 2-2. Here are their scenarios. Their magic number for the 5-seed is one.
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