NBA Standings Watch

TroyOLeary

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After last night's results, Nets now can't catch the Bulls, and they almost definitely won't catch the Raptors, who only need to go 2-4 in their last 6 to clinch a better record than the Nets, and they have games left against Orlando, Houston, and the Knicks.

So Nets in the play-in is now a virtual lock. Hell, if they lose in Atlanta tomorrow night they're looking at a real possibility of not getting the 8.
 

lovegtm

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After last night's results, Nets now can't catch the Bulls, and they almost definitely won't catch the Raptors, who only need to go 2-4 in their last 6 to clinch a better record than the Nets, and they have games left against Orlando, Houston, and the Knicks.

So Nets in the play-in is now a virtual lock. Hell, if they lose in Atlanta tomorrow night they're looking at a real possibility of not getting the 8.
Are the Nets actually good?

If Simmons doesn't come back or is a shadow of himself (seems likely), KD+Kyrie+stuff that can't play defense isn't really that intimidating, and hasn't been that good in the regular season.
 

jmcc5400

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Are the Nets actually good?

If Simmons doesn't come back or is a shadow of himself (seems likely), KD+Kyrie+stuff that can't play defense isn't really that intimidating, and hasn't been that good in the regular season.
They're 32-18 when Durant plays. 7-5 with Durant and Kyrie with a pretty good point differential, albeit one inflated by a couple of blowout wins. I'd say they're more potent than your typical 7 or 8 seed, but I'm skeptical that they could make a run to the finals.
 

OnTheBlack

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I agree that the fear of the nets is unfounded. They are dangerous because of Durant but that’s not a great team.
 

HomeRunBaker

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They're 32-18 when Durant plays. 7-5 with Durant and Kyrie with a pretty good point differential, albeit one inflated by a couple of blowout wins. I'd say they're more potent than your typical 7 or 8 seed, but I'm skeptical that they could make a run to the finals.
Or you can say that the point different was delayed one a handful of one possession losses with Durant/Kyrie against the leagues powerhouses. Discounting this team as a threat when you’ll often have the best player on the floor is dangerous…..especially when that best player doesn’t always have to be Durant.
 

Euclis20

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Or you can say that the point different was delayed one a handful of one possession losses with Durant/Kyrie against the leagues powerhouses. Discounting this team as a threat when you’ll often have the best player on the floor is dangerous…..especially when that best player doesn’t always have to be Durant.
Friendly reminder that in 7 seasons without Lebron, Kyrie has won a grand total of 2 playoff series. Durant is the reason they are scary. He's an incredibly gifted and efficient scorer but other than that he's an injury prone defensive liability who doesn't make anyone around him better, and that's without mentioning his off the court issues.
 

Five Cent Head

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Friendly reminder that in 7 seasons without Lebron, Kyrie has won a grand total of 2 playoff series. Durant is the reason they are scary. He's an incredibly gifted and efficient scorer but other than that he's an injury prone defensive liability who doesn't make anyone around him better, and that's without mentioning his off the court issues.
The "he" in your last sentence is Kyrie, right?
 

128

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Raptors could end up with the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. Five wins in a row.
 

Cellar-Door

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I think the Nets are very scary in the playoffs.

A lot of NBA playoffs comes down to:
1. who has the best guy in the series
2. Who has 2 of the best 3?

The Nets have the best guy in every matchup except MAYBE the Bucks.
The Nets have 2 of the best 3 in most of those.

Also, last night showed what the Nets can do, which is play acceptable defense and just flamethrower offense with the best ISO scorer in the league, another excellent ISO scorer and one of the best volume 3 shooters in the league.

BRK is definitely a much better team than the other bottom half of the bracket teams, but that's the thing about a play-in, 1 game anything can happen.
 

chilidawg

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C's back to 3rd, half game behind the Bucks who rested their big 3 and got crushed by the Clippers. Philly is a game back.

SA wins to move a half game ahead of the Lakers. NO/Lakers outcome will be huge for that race.

Raptors keep rolling, tied for 5th with the Bulls now.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I think the Nets are very scary in the playoffs.

A lot of NBA playoffs comes down to:
1. who has the best guy in the series
2. Who has 2 of the best 3?

The Nets have the best guy in every matchup except MAYBE the Bucks.
The Nets have 2 of the best 3 in most of those.

Also, last night showed what the Nets can do, which is play acceptable defense and just flamethrower offense with the best ISO scorer in the league, another excellent ISO scorer and one of the best volume 3 shooters in the league.

BRK is definitely a much better team than the other bottom half of the bracket teams, but that's the thing about a play-in, 1 game anything can happen.
That’s the key. Unless something weird happens and they end up in the 9-10 game, it’s going to have to be in TWO games both against crappy teams. Someone is going to receive an awful 1st Round matchup.
 

jmcc5400

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That’s the key. Unless something weird happens and they end up in the 9-10 game, it’s going to have to be in TWO games both against crappy teams. Someone is going to receive an awful 1st Round matchup.
Are Atlanta and Charlotte, particularly with Gordon returning, crappy though? Both, particularly the Hawks, have been playing pretty well. Tomorrow’s Hawks/Nets game should be pretty interesting.
 

Cellar-Door

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That’s the key. Unless something weird happens and they end up in the 9-10 game, it’s going to have to be in TWO games both against crappy teams. Someone is going to receive an awful 1st Round matchup.
yeah, that's why I was saying up thread that the ATL game is sneaky key, ATL wins that and it gets interesting.

CHA locked up the H2H tiebreaker w/ BKN, BKN has locked in H2H vs. ATL. If BKN wins they lock in the 3 way tiebreaker, if they lose CHA gets it.

BKN has the easiest schedule: ATL, HOU, NYK, CLE, IND
CHA has PHI, ORL, CHI, MIA, WAS
ATL has BKN, TOR, WAS, MIA, HOU

Lot of opportunity for MIA in particular to take a game off. BRK can likely lose one, but it being to the Hawks isn't ideal, as the MFE gets smaller.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Are Atlanta and Charlotte, particularly with Gordon returning, crappy though? Both, particularly the Hawks, have been playing pretty well. Tomorrow’s Hawks/Nets game should be pretty interesting.
I meant crappy by playoff standards…..not crappy like the Rockets and Kings.

Only 5 games on the Saturday slate, certainly due to not wanting to compete with the Final Four, but four of them have spreads of 2 points or less with only the Sixers a 5.5 pt favorite (and Charlotte is live to beat them too). Should be some competitive games in the Final Four shadow to watch.
 
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wade boggs chicken dinner

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Toronto moves into No. 5 spot in the East.
Seems to me that TOR will be 5 seed. I know vax'd persons no longer need a negative test to get into Canada but a podcast I just listened to mentioned that persons need a negative test to fly back into the US, which I think is correct. So if someone were to test positive, that person woyldn't be able to fly back to US until a negative test is obtained, which could really impact a series.

So it would be great if BOS didn't play TOR.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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yeah, that's why I was saying up thread that the ATL game is sneaky key, ATL wins that and it gets interesting.

CHA locked up the H2H tiebreaker w/ BKN, BKN has locked in H2H vs. ATL. If BKN wins they lock in the 3 way tiebreaker, if they lose CHA gets it.

BKN has the easiest schedule: ATL, HOU, NYK, CLE, IND
CHA has PHI, ORL, CHI, MIA, WAS
ATL has BKN, TOR, WAS, MIA, HOU

Lot of opportunity for MIA in particular to take a game off. BRK can likely lose one, but it being to the Hawks isn't ideal, as the MFE gets smaller.
So ATL beats BRK and CHA loses, leaving remaining schedules as (including CHI and CLE as that may impact whether teams try or not):

BKN has the easiest schedule: HOU (4.5), @ NYK (4.6), CLE (4.8), and IND (4.10)
CHA has @ MIA (4.5), ORL (4.7), @ CHI (4.8), and WAS (4.10)
ATL has @ TOR (4.5), WAS (4.6), @ MIA (4.8), and @ HOU (4.10)
CLE has PHI (4.3), @ ORL (4.5), @ BRK (4.8), and MIL (4.10)
CHI has MIL (4.5), BOS (4.6), CHA (4.8), and @ MIN (4.10)
TOR has MIA (4.3), ATL (4.5), PHI (4.7), HOU (4.8), and @NYK (4.10)

If BRK wins out, the key game for ATL will be the TOR game on 4.5. If they can win that, I can see MIA sitting players on that 4.8 game just to give ATL a fighting chance of finishing above BRK.

Similarly, I'm sure MIA is thinking about sitting out players against CHA on 4.5 for the same reason. That's a more difficult decision but if I were MIA, I'd absolutely make that a rest day as their seeding isn't nearly as important and making BRK play an extra game for the chance to get into the playoffs IMO.

If CLE loses to PHI today, CHI will have 2.5 games on them which means their remaining schedule - particularly the game against CHA on 4.8 - may not be meaningful unless they really want to jump TOR for the 5 seed.

And we'll know who is vax'd on MIA, ATL, and PHI after this week since they play in TOR.

Will be an interesting week of hoops.
 

Bosoxian

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Seems to me that TOR will be 5 seed. I know vax'd persons no longer need a negative test to get into Canada but a podcast I just listened to mentioned that persons need a negative test to fly back into the US, which I think is correct. So if someone were to test positive, that person woyldn't be able to fly back to US until a negative test is obtained, which could really impact a series.

So it would be great if BOS didn't play TOR.
I was recently in Paris and had the same requirement. My first test came out positive, I assumed it was a false positive, and my next one was negative. You can keep testing until you get the results you want, and with the issues with testing reliability, you’ll likely get the good result in 3 or 4 tests.
 

ugmo33

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I was recently in Paris and had the same requirement. My first test came out positive, I assumed it was a false positive, and my next one was negative. You can keep testing until you get the results you want, and with the issues with testing reliability, you’ll likely get the good result in 3 or 4 tests.
You also don't need a test to cross the land border so a player could pretty easily drive to Buffalo or Detroit and catch a charter flight
 

Ale Xander

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The 3 seed seems like the best place to be come playoff time. Not really looking forward to a series against the red-hot Raptors (possibly with some vax issues?) if the Cs slip below the Sixers.
3 seed is also good because you know who you’ll be playing and can prepare accordingly
 

Cesar Crespo

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What's the record for most teams over .500 in the same conference?

The East has a chance at 10, but I haven't checked head to heads.
 

128

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Toronto lost to Miami tonite.

Boston has three regular-season games left and is 3.5 games ahead of Chicago and Toronto, both of which have four games remaining.
 

BigSoxFan

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Toronto lost to Miami tonite.

Boston has three regular-season games left and is 3.5 games ahead of Chicago and Toronto, both of which have four games remaining.

2-4 is a near lock now. Will be following Toronto/Chicago closely.
 

128

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2-4 is a near lock now. Will be following Toronto/Chicago closely.
I'm hoping the C's win at least one of these remaining games. They don't need to head into the playoffs on a three-game skid.
 

jmcc5400

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If they take care of Chicago, they go a long way toward setting up a 3-6 match-up.
 

BigSoxFan

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I'm hoping the C's win at least one of these remaining games. They don't need to head into the playoffs on a three-game skid.
Agreed. Milwaukee is the one I want. Memphis will probably be resting everyone. Bulls need to avoid the play in so that won’t be easy either but at least we’ll be rested and they’ll have played the Bucks the night before.
 

k-factory

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Yeah…key takeaway is whatever glimmer of the 1 seed was there, just evaporated. Now it’s really trade-offs between having 1 extra home game vs the Bucks or Sixers or avoiding Brooklyn. This team shouldn’t fear Brooklyn. It will be cathartic
 

The Mort Report

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Agreed. Milwaukee is the one I want. Memphis will probably be resting everyone. Bulls need to avoid the play in so that won’t be easy either but at least we’ll be rested and they’ll have played the Bucks the night before.
But wouldn't this pretty much put us in line for the #2? With TL I wouldn't care where we end up in the first round, but I'd rather head in to the post season as the #3
 

HomeRunBaker

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I'm hoping the C's win at least one of these remaining games. They don't need to head into the playoffs on a three-game skid.
It really depends on when Brad decides to call it a regular season to prepare for the playoffs. We have no history of these calls since this is a decision above the Head Coaches pay grade.
 

Marceline

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All the starters playing under 30min in a blowout probably helped.

Meanwhile Embiid logged 38 minutes and Harden 40 on the first day of back to back road games.
 

chilidawg

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Seems to me Brooklyn is more likely the 8 than the 7, but really no guarantees they're even in playoffs. So hard to get a read on how good they'll be come playoff time.

Being the 2nd seed means being well rested facing a team that has had to go through the play in and has had less time to prepare, in addition to getting HC in the 2nd round.

My guess will be that we win in Chicago, rest starters and lose in Milwaukee, and win in Memphis. With almost a week off before the playoffs there's no need to go crazy with time off.
 

128

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It really depends on when Brad decides to call it a regular season to prepare for the playoffs. We have no history of these calls since this is a decision above the Head Coaches pay grade.
How Toronto fares figures to have a lot to do with the C's approach. I can't see them resting starters if they're in danger of dropping to the No. 5 seed and losing home-court advantage in the first round.
 

lexrageorge

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I can see the Celtics going all out to beat the Bulls. A win in Chicago ensures that they have home court in any matchup with the Bulls or Raptors regardless of what happens tomorrow night. I don't see Brad/Ime counting on both teams losing tomorrow night, so they will want the team mentally prepared to play for the win. If either Bulls/Raptors win tomorrow night, I'd be shocked if the Celtics did not go all out to clinch home court in the first round on Wednesday. Then they can concede the 2nd half of the B2B in Milwaukee and use the Memphis game a chance to keep the bench fresh.

But that is just speculation; we'll need to see how Brad plays it.
 

DGreenwood

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That could be a pretty big advantage for the Cs. I know the NFL has done some work in recent years to avoid those types of advantages. I guess with the longer schedule in the NBA, one game is less likely to be as impactful as it is in the NFL.
 

NomarsFool

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Looks like Chicago is losing tonight, but I think they are still playing for 5 vs 6 seed. The teams are all so tight in the standings
 

HomeRunBaker

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Looks like Chicago is losing tonight, but I think they are still playing for 5 vs 6 seed. The teams are all so tight in the standings
If ever there was a non 8-seed primed to get swept in the first round it is these Bulls. We knew going in that depth would be an issue for them and now the injuries are piling up.
 

NomarsFool

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It’s interesting how much the standings have changed since earlier in the season. Chicago and Cleveland really fell.
 

k-factory

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Were the C’s to jockey for position I’d love for them to knock off the Bucks tomorrow and earn the 2 seed - a looming Brooklyn be damned.
But would like to then see the Sixers beat Toronto and leapfrog Milwaukee for 3rd seed.
A C’s / 76ers series in the second round feels more winnable than a C’s/Bucks series