The NBA is as chaotic as ever as we reach the end of the regular season - SB Nation

With just over a week left in the regular season, the postseason picture is clouded with uncertainty. Outside of the Rockets and Warriors going 1-2 in the West, everything else is up for grabs.

With so much still to play for and so little time left, this calls for a LIST.

Let's start in the East, where the Basketball Gods sure do love messing with the Raptors. All of a sudden, the top seed is back in play in the East. After beating Toronto Saturday night, the Celtics are just two games back of the Raptors for homecourt in the East with a showdown in Canada looming on Wednesday. The Celtics would have the tiebreaker with the win.

Even before they get to the rematch with Boston, the Raps have to play in Cleveland on Tuesday. The last time the two met, the Cavs put 132 points on the board, a defensive effort Kyle Lowry called 'disgraceful.' Cleveland has now won eight of their last nine, by the way.

You didn't think this would be easy, did you? Might as well start feeling the postseason Raptors tension a little early, just to get prepped.

Good Morning It's Basketball

NBA news and links delivered to your inbox each weekday, so you never miss out.

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy.

The Cavs' playoff seed is the biggest variable in the East. Cleveland could wind up anywhere from the Nos. 3 and 5 seeds, and still control the postseason. We all know that this Cleveland team is different than past versions. It doesn't have Kyrie Irving and it doesn't play much defense. The Cavs even lost their coach to health-related reasons.

That's all true. So is this.

LeBron James has played the Raps and Celtics two times each over the last three postseasons. He's won 16 of those games and lost three. James is not worried about where the Cavs fall in the playoff seedings, but you can bet everyone else sure is.

Basketball isn't jazz, but Philly is Utah: The Sixers have won 10 straight games and have been bolstered by the veteran free agent additions of Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova. They also have a top-five defense, a Rookie of the Year candidate, and a game-changing center. In other words, the Sixers are the Utah Jazz of the East, and nobody wants to play Utah in the playoffs.

There is the not insignificant matter of Joel Embiid's face. The Process had surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone and his timeline calls for 2-4 weeks, which puts the start of the postseason in doubt. With Embiid, the Sixers are one of the best teams in the league. Without him … who the hell knows?

A semifinal matchup with the Celtics would be all kinds of intriguing.

Speaking of the C's … I have no idea how they'll fare in the postseason and neither does anyone else. Let's save them for a later time.

It's a little surprising how many people think one of the top three seeds in the East is going to get beat in the first round. There's not a consensus on who that unlucky team may be and there's not universal agreement about which mediocre Eastern Conference would be the one doing the upsetting, but a lot of people sure seem to feel that way.

I'm not entirely convinced. The Bucks have been running Giannis Antetokounmpo ragged and the Wizards are the Wizards. You try and figure them out. Respect is universal for Erik Spoelstra's Heat, but not fear.

On the flip side, the Cavs seemed to have figured a few things out and the Celtics keep inventing ways to win (see the 2-3 zone in the Utah victory last week.) And look, the Raps simply can't lose in the first round. Not even the gods are that cruel.

---

Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, out West, while we wait for the Warriors to get healthy …

The Blazers are really going to get the No. 3 seed. This is one of the best stories in the league. Faced with the prospect of rebuilding from the ashes after LaMarcus Aldridge skipped town, the Blazers pushed forward behind Damian Lillard and remained playoff worthy.

That was a nice accomplishment, but this team is legit. The Blazers can score and now they defend consistently. Also: Lillard is a superstar and C.J. McCollum is criminally underrated. That may not be enough to last beyond a round in the postseason, but the Blazers are a model of how a small market team can function and thrive.

(I'll have a lot more about Dame and the Blazers on Thursday.)

Danger abounds in the middle of the bracket. Just three games separate the Spurs from fourth and the Nuggets in ninth. Regardless of how the playoff picture falls, every team in the West has the potential to do some damage. That makes jockeying for position a meaningless exercise.

Whether it's LaMarcus Aldridge, Russell Westbrook, Karl-Anthony Towns, or the incomparable Anthony Davis, the spoilers in the West are loaded with star power. Then there's Utah, who brings a top defense along with the formidable duo of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.

All that said, OKC is the one team that can deny us a Warriors-Rox conference finals. The key is Paul George.

April 11 is the day of reckoning for some unfortunate team in the West. Right now, the Nuggets are on the outside looking in, but that could change quickly. Denver is only a game back of New Orleans with five to play. Two of Denver's games are against Minnesota, who is only a game up in the loss column, with the final meeting set for the last day of the regular season.

All three of those teams really need to make the playoffs. The Wolves are trying to snap a 14-year postseason drought. After everything AD has done since DeMarcus Cousins' injury, and at this point in their history, it would be catastrophic for the Pelicans miss the playoffs. The Nuggets, meanwhile, need validation in the worst way.

If you wanted to see a postseason play-in tournament, the last week is as close as you're going to get. One shining moment? More like, six months of unrelenting grind with one last chance to save your job.

next page

Tweet