![]() ![]() Owning the tiebreaker against Toronto helps. The Hawks’ final four games includes two against top teams in the East and another team trying to make the play-in tournament. Remaining games: at Detroit at Philadelphia at Washington vs. Not falling a spot or two is also on Miami’s radar, though it has the tiebreaker against Atlanta but not Toronto. But that’s going to be difficult since Brooklyn owns the tiebreaker. The Heat, who reached the conference finals last season, would love to sneak in at the sixth seed and avoid a play-in game situation. Holding off Miami for the sixth seed is the bigger concern. A tough closing schedule makes it difficult for the Nets to catch the Knicks. Mikal Bridges is turning into a two-way star now that he can showcase his offensive talent. Brooklyn Nets (43-35, 13 games back)Ĭredit to the Nets for holding it together after trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Remaining games: at Indiana at New Orleans vs. Either way, unless the Knicks really stumble, it looks like a Cleveland-New York first-round series. The Knicks, one of the better teams in the East in the second half of the season, have an outside chance to get the fourth seed. Remaining games: at Orlando at Orlando vs. However, Cleveland would fall to the fifth seed (and lose home-court for the first round) if it loses out and New York wins out. The tiebreaker goes to the Sixers if they share the same record. Cleveland Cavaliers (49-30, 7½ games back)Ĭleveland could catch Philadelphia for the third seed, but need to win all three games while the Sixers don’t win another regular-season game. The Celtics own the tiebreaker if they finish with identical records based on head-to-head win-loss percentage. The Sixers are just about locked into the third seed - unless they beat Boston on Tuesday, win their remaining games and the Celtics lose their four remaining games. Philadelphia 76ers (51-27, five games back) Regardless, the Celtics didn’t have home-court advantage in last season’ playoffs, winning Game 7 of the conference finals in Miami. The Celtics have a chance at the top seed and best overall record, but in their position, they need other teams to beat the Bucks and they need to win games. They have an easier schedule than the Celtics, too. The Bucks don’t have the top seed secured and don’t own the tiebreaker against Boston, so they have to win to get the top seed and league’s overall best record. Let’s take a look at the playoff race in the East heading into Tuesday’s games: 1. MORE: A look at the Western Conference playoff race Sixth-place Brooklyn has a two-game lead over seventh-place Miami, which is two games up on Atlanta and Toronto, who are each a game ahead of 10th-place Chicago. The Cavs have a three-game lead over fifth-place New York. Just 2½ games are between third-place Philadelphia and fourth-place Cleveland. Two games separate first-place Milwaukee from second-place Boston. In what order they finish – from the first seed to the 10th seed – is not settled with each team playing three or four more regular-season games. The 10 postseason teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference are just about set. ![]()
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