We’re one month away from the end of the NBA’s 2020/21 regular season, which means we’re entering the home stretch of the postseason race. And the introduction of the play-in tournament adds an extra wrinkle to this year’s playoff push.
In the Eastern Conference, as has been the case for months, three teams have set themselves apart from the pack — three games separate the top-seeded Sixers (38-17), Nets (37-18), and Bucks (35-20), with Milwaukee holding the No. 3 spot by a comfortable 5.5-game margin.
The next tier of the East starts with the Hawks, who have played well since Nate McMillan replaced Lloyd Pierce on the sidelines and currently have a 30-26 record. They’re tied with the Celtics (30-26), and both teams are a game up on the Knicks (29-27).
If the season ended today, those would be the six teams assured of a playoff spot, since the play-in tournament involves the four teams between seventh and 10th. That’s bad news for the seventh-seeded Heat (28-27), who will need to move up at least one spot in the standings to avoid having to earn their postseason berth in a play-in game. The Hornets (27-27) and Pacers (26-28) also remain very much in the hunt for a top-six seed, but would be play-in teams if the standings don’t change.
Finally, the 10th spot in the East remains very much up for grabs, in what has been the least inspiring part of this year’s playoff race. The Bulls (22-32) are still the No. 10 seed for the time being, despite losing four in a row and and 10 of their last 13. That’s only because the Raptors (22-34) have been in an even worse slump, having lost 19 of their last 25 games. Both teams are currently missing key players, including Zach LaVine and Kyle Lowry.
Chicago’s and Toronto’s struggles have opened the door for seemingly lottery-bound teams like the Wizards (21-33) and Cavaliers (20-35) to remain in the mix for that No. 10 seed. Whichever club claims that spot would need to win two play-in games to make the postseason, but that’s not inconceivable, given the competition.
What do you think? How do you expect the top six (and top three) seeds to play out in the East? Which four teams will end up in the play-in tournament, and which two will survive?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your predictions!
10 games under .500 and making the playoffs and yall still tryin to argue the East isn’t the minor leagues of the NBA?
This is just because of the play-in. The 8th team in the East (Pacers, 26-27) has pretty much the same record as the 8th in the West (Grizzlies, 27-27). And the worst two records in the NBA are in the West, for that matter.
The teams with the two worst records are in the West, that doesn’t make them the two worst teams in the NBA. You put teams like Detroit, Orlando, and Cleveland in the West and they would struggle just to reach the 20-win mark in a 72-game season (or even 82).
East has improved significantly this year
They have won 45% of the games so far
45% vs 55%
Only 10% difference
You need to come to terms with the fact that the Rockets are very very bad and likely will be for the next few seasons.
Where does this argument that the East is worst than the West get you? That the Warriors are even more superior because they are in the West?
The Bulls are a joke. They trade Carter and two firsts pretty much going all in on a Lavine and Vucevic team. They are the 10th seed after all of this and don’t look like they will ever really challenge for anything other than a low seed. This reminds me of the Sixers trade for Andrew Bynum where they gave up Iggy and Vucevic going all in as a mediocre team.
Totally agree on the Bulls, who at this point need to think about a total rebuild themselves. But the Pacers have had the same squad with the same middling result for years. If they’re not going to shake up the squad and retool, they should start dealing their guys.
The whole of the Pacers have been less than the sum of their parts. New coach has fixed nothing.
I think with the Pacers the problem is ownership doesn’t have a lot of money compared to the rest of the owners and they want to just have above average to good not great teams. They don’t seem to want to pay the costs of a rebuild or spending to contend.
I’d much rather see the Raptors tank the rest of the season than try to make the meaningless play-in tourney. Thankfully it appears that’s what they’re doing. COVID really derailed their season – they could easily be a top 4 or 5 seed in the East next year, especially if they add a top four pick.
Can we all agree this play-in is not a good idea? No other league has one, nor the ability for 20 out of the possible 30 (or 32) teams to make the playoffs. It almost devalues the importance of the regular season in a way. I truly hope they nix it for next season. And keep in mind I’m a fan of a team that needs it to even think about getting into the playoffs
The East has bunched up now. I have to say that Celtics and Heat have disappointed. Both should be Mitch better. Have been inconsistent all yr. Always thought Hawks would step up, and they have. Knicks and Hornets are a surprise. Now as it’s down to under 20 gms. Raptors are falling out. Don’t get Bulls now, but them healthy as 10th seed could get in. Wizards with their talent finally waking up. Could also get in. Hornets cause of their injuries are going to fall. Top 3 teams in East are for real. After that you got good teams and new guys to the dance. So it should be competitive. As a Knick fan I rather the6th seed. But I know we are good enough to make top 8. Knicks are good enough to win play in gms. And give top 2 teams a tough series. Heat or Celtics need to Wake up. But I see it as a 3 team race right now. Any of top 3 East teams can win it all. Embiid, Giannis, Big 3. Better than anything West got.
In the east the #1 seed is more valuable because that team will end playing one difficult series against either 2 or 3. 2 or 3 seed have two difficult series to get to the finals. Seeds 4 through infinity don’t really offer much competition to the top 3.
Based on the top to the bottom of the east so far. It’s a toss up the first seed between the sixers and nets. While I believe the hawks and either the heat Celtics or Knicks will grab the 4 through 6 seed. Then the play in tournament will be tough.