Teams have been gobbling up playoff berths all week, leaving only 8 spots up for grabs, but since the 4 in the East are pretty much already determined and Memphis won't miss out, there are really only 6 teams going for the final 3 spots in the West. Two teams are on winning streaks of at least 14 games, with Miami's streak becoming the first ever to get within 10 of the Lakers' amazing 33-game streak 31 years ago. Here are my current rankings, with teams grouped by similar level of performance and projected final record in parentheses, as well as projected seeding and the change in projected record from last week.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) Overall (Projected) Seed (Change)
1. (1) Oklahoma City (3-2) 51-19 (60-22) 2W (-2)
2. (3) Miami (5-0) 54-14 (65-17) 1E (+1)
3. (2) San Antonio (3-0) 53-16 (61-21) 1W
4. (4) LA Clippers (2-1) 47-22 (56-26) 4W
5. (5) Denver (4-0) 48-22 (56-26) 3W (+2)
6. (8) Indiana (3-2) 43-26 (51-31) 2E (-1)
7. (6) Memphis (2-3) 46-22 (54-28) 5W (-2)
8. (7) Houston (3-1) 38-31 (46-36) 6W
9. (10) New York (3-1) 41-26 (50-32) 3E (+2)
10. (12) Brooklyn (2-1) 40-28 (48-34) 4E (+1)
11. (9) LA Lakers (2-2) 36-34 (42-40) 8W (-1)
12. (15) Golden State (2-2) 39-31 (46-36) 7W (+1)
13. (11) Dallas (3-2) 33-36 (40-42) 10W (+1)
14. (13) Boston (1-3) 36-32 (43-39) 7E (-2)
15. (14) Atlanta (3-2) 38-31 (45-37) 5E
16. (16) Utah (1-3) 34-35 (41-41) 9W
17. (18) Portland (3-2) 33-36 (38-44) 11W
18. (17) Chicago (1-2) 36-31 (44-38) 6E
19. (20) Milwaukee (2-3) 34-34 (40-42) 8E (-1)
20. (24) Minnesota (2-3) 24-43 (31-51) 12W (+1)
21. (19) Toronto (1-3) 26-43 (32-50) 9E (-2)
22. (22) Washington (4-1) 25-43 (31-51) 11E (+2)
23. (25) Sacramento (2-1) 25-44 (29-53) 13W (+1)
24. (21) New Orleans (2-3) 24-46 (28-54) 14W (-1)
25. (23) Cleveland (0-5) 22-47 (28-54) 13E (-1)
26. (26) Philadelphia (2-2) 26-42 (32-50) 10E (+2)
27. (27) Detroit (0-3) 23-47 (28-54) 12E (-1)
28. (28) Phoenix (1-4) 23-47 (26-56) 15W (-1)
29. (29) Orlando (0-5) 18-52 (21-61) 14E
30. (30) Charlotte (2-2) 16-52 (19-63) 15E (+1)
I didn't expect much out of Golden State this week as they headed out for their final extended road trip of the season, so the fact that they won 2 of 3 and won them both convincingly makes me think that the Warriors are pretty solidly in the playoffs. 9 of their final 12 games are at home, and only 4 of those games are against teams that will probably be in the playoffs, 2 coming against the Lakers, so the Warriors should finish with a pretty good record and could possibly get to the #6 spot and avoid the Thunder or Spurs in the first round.
Not only did Brooklyn clinch a playoff berth with their win in Dallas last night, they also dealt a serious blow to the Mavericks' hopes, especially considering that the Jazz and Lakers also lost last night, and it would have allowed the Mavs to make up a full game on both. The Nets pulled away from Atlanta this week and are looking like a pretty solid #4 seed now, which they'll need to get through the first round, since they won't be going any farther.
New York won 3 straight this week and also clinched a playoff berth, and it looks like they are disputing Indiana's claim to be the second-best team in the East. New York obviously has more star power than Indiana, but having home court when the two face off in round 2 would certainly help their chances of reaching an Eastern Conference Final showdown with the smoking Heat.
Portland's week didn't start off too well, losing at Milwaukee and Philadelphia, two teams that wouldn't even be in the playoff discussion in the West, but then they took down Atlanta and Chicago, two teams that will be in, which kept the Blazers' season alive. I still have them being left out, mostly because of the strength of their remaining schedule, which contains only teams that will make the playoffs or are still alive (Dallas and Utah). Not a single cupcake the rest of the way gives them no chance of passing 3 teams in the next month.
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