The NBA playoff and play-in races are heating up with just about a month to go on the schedule. Below is a comprehensive snapshot of where things stand entering play on Monday, March 6. This post will update daily throughout the remainder of the regular season, or until all seeds are clinched.
Reminder on how the play-in tournament works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed.
READ: Western Conference Playoff Picture
NOTE: Our SportsLine model, developed by predictive data engineer Stephen Oh, simulates the entire season 10,000 times to produce the most unbiased and precise projections imaginable.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
The Bucks hold a two-game lead over the Celtics in the loss column. They play one more time on March 30 with the season series tied 1-1. The Bucks lead No. 3 Philly by four in the loss column, which feels pretty safe with 18 to play.
Projected seed: 1Current first-round matchup: TBDTiebreaker vs. No. 2 Boston: Tied 1-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. No. 3 Philadelphia: Sixers lead 2-1 with one to play
2. Boston Celtics
The Celtics blew big leads to the Nets and Knicks in losing their last two and now trail the top-seeded Bucks by two in the loss column. Boston holds a two-game lead over No. 3 Philadelphia, but that lead is effectively three games with Boston having cliched the tiebreaker. The Celtics should be safe to end up no worse than third, as they lead the No. 4 Cavaliers by six in the loss column.
Projected seed: 2Current first-round matchup: Winner of Heat/Hawks play-inTiebreaker vs. No. 1 Milwaukee: Tied 1-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. No. 3 Philadelphia: Boston clinchedTiebreaker vs. No. 4 Cleveland: Cavs lead 2-1 with one to play
The Sixers are effectively three back of the No. 2 Celtics with Boston having clinched the tiebreaker. They lead the No. 4 Cavs by four games. At the moment, the Sixers feel like a good bet to stay at No. 3.
Projected…
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Author : Brad Botkin
Publish date : 2023-03-06 19:48:25
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