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NBA Playoff picture: NBA Playoff bracket if season ended today

By Ian Levy

Jan 24, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) looks to drive past Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 24, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) looks to drive past Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA Playoff picture is coming into focus and the NBA Playoff bracket is getting roughed in. Which teams are sitting right where they want to be?

There are just five weeks left in the regular season with anywhere between 15 and 18 games remaining for each team. That’s not a lot of time to jockey for position, secure homecourt advantage or a play-in berth, or avoid a terrible first-round matchup. Here’s how things would look if the season ended today.

NBA Playoff Picture: Eastern Conference

Here are the current standings in the East, with the bottom four seeds lining up for the Play-In Tournament.

  1. Milwaukee Bucks
  2. Boston Celtics
  3. Philadelphia 76ers
  4. Cleveland Cavaliers
  5. New York Knicks
  6. Brooklyn Nets
  7. Miami Heat
  8. Atlanta Hawks
  9. Toronto Raptors
  10. Washington Wizards

If the season ended today we’d have the Heat vs. Hawks and Raptors vs. Wizards to open the Play-In Tournament. The winner of Heat vs. Hawks would get the No. 7 seed. The loser would play the winner of the Raptors vs. Wizards for the No. 8 seed.

That means our first-round playoff series would be some:

  • No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 8 Heat/Hawks/Raptors/Wizards
  • No. 2 Boston Celtics  vs. No. 7 Heat/Hawks
  • No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 6 Brooklyn Nets
  • No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 New York Knicks

Not a ton has changed here over the past week, other than the Bucks leapfrogging the Celtics. There is a fairly wide gap in talent between those two contenders and the playoff teams so either will still feel pretty confident. However, getting to avoid the Heat might save someone a lot of wear-and-tear.

The other interesting change is here the Knicks passing the Nets. New York is 9-1 since the trade deadline, outscoring opponents by an average of 10.9 points per 100 possessions, the top mark in the league over that span. They are a much tougher matchup than the depleted Nets and are close enough in the standings that they could threaten to pass the 76ers or Cavs. All that is to say, we may end up with an interesting race for the No. 3 seed as those three teams scramble to see who can get the Nets.

NBA Playoff Picture: Western Conference

The Western Conference offers much more intrigue from top to bottom and the ongoing races for seeds have a lot more potential to shake up the matchups. Here are the current standings.

  1. Denver Nuggets
  2. Memphis Grizzlies
  3. Sacramento Kings
  4. Phoenix Suns
  5. Golden State Warriors
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves
  7. Dallas Mavericks
  8. Los Angeles Clippers
  9. New Orleans Pelicans
  10. Utah Jazz

If the season ended today we’d have the Mavericks vs. Clippers and Pelicans vs. Jazz to open the Play-In Tournament. The winner of Mavericks vs. Clippers would get the No. 7 seed. The loser would play the winner of the Pelicans vs. Jazz for the No. 8 seed.

That means our first-round playoff series would be some:

  • No. 1 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 8 Mavericks/Clippers/Pelicans/Jazz
  • No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 Mavericks/Clippers
  • No. 3 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
  • No. 4 Phoenix Suns vs. No. 5 Golden State Warriors

There has been a lot of movement in the bottom half of the Western Conference bracket, which creates some dangerous matchups. The Mavs and Clippers may be looking less and less like dark horse contenders but both are still extremely dangerous in first round matchup. And their desire to get the Grizzlies, who are struggling a bit with the Ja Morant, could add some extra juice to the play-in.

And then there are the other two matchups. Kings vs. Timberwolves would be a fantastic matchup and let us see Anthony Edwards and De’Aaron Fox show off, even if they wouldn’t really be going head-to-head. With the Kings’ lack of high-level playoff experience, the Timberwolves may feel even more optimistic about their chances of pulling off an upset.

The Warriors vs. Suns matchup doesn’t even really need a promo — Kevin Durant against the Warriors. Steph Curry vs. Chris Paul. For a middle-of-the-standings playoff matchup, you won’t find anything with more star power or higher historical stakes.

Next. Every NBA team's all-time starting lineup. dark

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