As the NBA season continues its stretch run toward the playoffs it seems each and every game from here on out holds major implications on the standings.
In the East, there are six teams within four games of each other with just over a week left in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers remain in a tight race for first place, while beneath them the Toronto Raptors are on their way to winning their battle for third with the Washington Wizards— which can be viewed as both a positive and a concern for the club and its fans.
Let’s take a look at the weekly snapshot at the playoff race atop the East, and the four teams locked into home court advantage:
BOSTON CELTICS
With a win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Boston became the first team in the East to reach the 50-win mark. With the victory, the Celtics were able to remain in first place despite the Cleveland Cavaliers nabbing a win of their own to inch within a half game of Boston. Isaiah Thomas has been brilliant, leading all East players with 28.0 points per game in March as his team went 10-4 during the month, and he’s getting help from his supporting cast as well.
Celtics fans may take further comfort knowing that, according to FiveThiryEight, Boston has the best odds of finishing atop the conference standings— 64 per cent to be exact. It sets up the most important game of the regular season in the East on Wednesday, when LeBron James and the Cavs will hit the road and play the Celtics with the top seed on the line.
After that, Boston has a winnable stretch of games vs. the Hawks, Hornets, and Nets before wrapping up their season against the Bucks, the league’s best team in March.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
It took a gruelling, double-OT game versus a red-hot Paul George and the not-so-red-hot Indiana Pacers— and a monstrous triple-double from LeBron James—but the Cavs pulled out a much-needed win on Sunday night that brings them within a half-game of the Celtics for first in the East.
ESPN’s algorithm, the Basketball Power Index, shows the Cavs as having the best chance of any East team to win the title (even if it’s a paltry 3.5 per cent), with the Raptors — not the Celts — a close second (3.2). LeBron’s presence alone is enough to put most worries about the Cavaliers’ chances in the East to rest, although Cleveland’s defensive issues are real and significant and will be hard to mask given the problem lies in the roster makeup and not in any system-based deficiencies or lack of effort. With a remaining schedule that includes tough games versus the Celtics, Heat, and the season finale against the Raps, it won’t be easy for Cleveland down the stretch and that 2-seed, while mostly unfathomable as recently as last month, is a distinct possibility despite having six games remaining to Boston’s five.
TORONTO RAPTORS
Be careful what you wish for, Raptors fans. While the last month or so has left the fan base keeping daily tabs on the standings in the hopes of landing the East’s third-seed, they’ve gotten what they wanted. The Raptors currently occupy third, having passed the Wizards on Sunday after beating the 76ers at home, and the two clubs seem to be headed in opposite directions; while the Raptors have gone 8-2 in their last 10 and are in a groove on both ends of the floor while awaiting the impending return of all-star point guard Kyle Lowry, Washington has lost three straight and seem destined to finish fourth.
Yet suddenly, that third-seed may not be the most attractive spot to repeat a run to the conference finals — and beyond.
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The race for third ran under the presumption that Cleveland would finish first, thus maintaining home court advantage while postponing a potential matchup with the defending champion Cavs until the East finals. If the seedings hold as they are now, it would mean the Raptors and Cavaliers, should they both advance, would meet each other in the second round. You may look at Cleveland’s 8-10 record since the beginning of March, or notice some in-fighting between players, and believe it means that these Cavs shouldn’t be feared like they used to be — and you may be right. But they still boast the best player in basketball and a fleet of dangerous shooters capable of breaking a series open. What’s more, Cleveland holds a distinct psychological edge over the Raptors beyond simply the relatively easy work they made of Toronto in the playoffs last season. This season, the Raps are the only team in the NBA currently holding a playoff spot that Cleveland hasn’t lost to.
Of course, it’s dangerous to intentionally jockey for positioning, and the Raptors players themselves have noted that they have no intention to do so. Jonas Valanciunas, for one, told reporters that it’s bad karma to do so.
Expect the Raptors to continue to simply play every game to win from here on out, standings and fantasy-booking be damned, while soon concentrating on working Lowry back into the fold. Yesterday was his first official practice with new teammates Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, although Lowry himself admitted he wasn’t particularly involved or active.
The Raptors stand a good chance of building off their win on Sunday night and stringing a few more together leading up to their much-anticipated season-ending game versus Cleveland on April 12th, one week from tomorrow. Next up on the schedule for Toronto is the Pacers (7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet ONE), followed by the Pistons, Heat, and Knicks — which you’d think should be good for at least three more wins.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
The Wizards are slumping at the worst possible time. As mentioned, after tearing up the NBA since Christmas, Washington has now lost three straight and fell to fourth place, where they’ll likely finish in the standings. It shouldn’t drastically effect a potential first-round matchup, as Washington has made relatively easy work of their two most likely opponents at present, Atlanta and Milwaukee, but at a time when teams should be peaking the Wizards are decidedly not.
What’s more, the Wiz have the toughest schedule of any team listed here, with a game tonight against the pesky Hornets and two games against Miami on the docket as well.
Stay tuned.