Eastern conference playoff race

[Andrew Wiggins]

it's incredibly tight from 2-4 and the race for the 7-8 seeds

for home court advantage, 1 game separates 2nd place toronto from 4th place cleveland with chicago right in the thick of things.

for the 7th and 8th seeds, 3 games separate 7th place miami from 12th place detroit

the current standings

7. miami
8. brooklyn
9. charlotte
10. indiana
11. boston
12. detroit

who do you guys think get the final two playoff spots. i think miami stays in, brooklyn falls out and indiana wins a tight race with charlotte and detroit to grab the 8th spot if paul george comes back with any sort of form.

[Im Still Ballin]

idk

[Prime_Shaq]

I think its gonna be Miami and Charlotte. However, I wanna see the Pacers get in and maybe Paul George can help them take a game or two off the Hawks.

[Velocirap31]

Raptors suck now so they're getting 4th. They can't go any lower than that anyway, so I doubt they care.

[coin24]

I think miami and charlotte will get in.. Unless George comes back strong and Indy make a run..

I wanted to see Detroit make it but after innjuries and aquiring scrub chucker jackson its not looking good:(

[wally_world]

can't believe Celtics are still in it

goes to show how well-coached they are (or just how shitty the east is in general)

[fiddy]

Detroit/Indy/Miami IMO

[Bernkastel]

The Nets will still make it. Keep believing. :(

[NumberSix]

Mostly black.

[Wally450]

Hoping for the Celtics, but with Sully done for the year, that's gonna be tough. I see Miami getting the 7 if Wade can stay healthy, which is a huge if. Charlotte getting the 8 unless Paul George come back and has an immediate impact.

Hoping for 7. Miami 8. Boston

Probably gonna get 7. Miami 8. Charlotte/Indiana

[ralph_i_el]

The eastern conference playoff race is going to be like the 400m Hurdles at the Special Olympics.....actually pretty fun to watch :roll:

[hawksdogsbraves]

My guess is 7) Miami 8) Charlotte

Those two teams are pretty clearly the most talented of that sorry lot.

[Crimsonrain777]

Miami against Cleveland first round? that's going to be pretty rough without Bosh..

[Dro]

I think the Pacers will get up to #7. Everybody in front and behind them has been playing .500 ball...The Pacers are 8-2 in their last 10 games....I'd like their chances against Toronto in a series with or without PG. I wouldn't choose us as the favorites but I feel we could beat them in a series. Atlanta, we'd need PG to beat them and we still wouldn't be the favorites honestly...

[Done_And_Done]

Brooklyn has been playing pretty well as of late, largely due to Deron's elevated play. If he can keep it up, I say Miami and the Nets go through.

If not

Miami and Charlotte

[beastee]

1. Hawks...obviously.
2. Cavs...anything worse is pathetic.
3. Bulls if Noah keeps healthy.
4. Raptors. Could jump to 3 if Bulls have anymore injuries.
5. Wizards. Could drop to 6. Man they suck right now.
6. Bucks. That trade keeps them out of 5th.
7. Heat. Dragic and Deng can hold em down.
8. Pacers. PG will make a difference.

[Milbuck]

1. LeBron James.
2. The rest

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Is Paul George expected to return this season? For Indiana's playoff chances, the sooner the better. They're definitely a darkhorse.

[Legends66NBA7]

1. Hawks...obviously.
2. Cavs...anything worse is pathetic.
3. Bulls if Noah keeps healthy.
4. Raptors. Could jump to 3 if Bulls have anymore injuries.
5. Wizards. Could drop to 6. Man they suck right now.
6. Bucks. That trade keeps them out of 5th.
7. Heat. Dragic and Deng can hold em down.
8. Pacers. PG will make a difference.

I would like this playoff bracket to happen in the East too. Proper.

[Genaro]

1. Hawks...obviously.
2. Cavs...anything worse is pathetic.
3. Bulls if Noah keeps healthy.
4. Raptors. Could jump to 3 if Bulls have anymore injuries.
5. Wizards. Could drop to 6. Man they suck right now.
6. Bucks. That trade keeps them out of 5th.
7. Heat. Dragic and Deng can hold em down.
8. Pacers. PG will make a difference.
Agree with this. Maybe just changing Raptors and Bulls

[embersyc]

Unfortunately it's looking like 7. Miami, 8. Indy to me. Or maybe the Hornets get in.

Don't think Detroit will make it anymore.

[Hittin_Shots]

Boston were looking good till the GSW comeback and the Cavs beat down.

[Roundball_Rock]

Is Paul George expected to return this season? For Indiana's playoff chances, the sooner the better. They're definitely a darkhorse.

Yes, somewhere at the end of this month. I think Indiana gets in. As Dro noted, they are the hottest team of that group and that is with George. Even if George comes back at 80% that should be enough to lift the Pacers above this pack. Charlotte, Miami are close and Brooklyn, Detroit and Boston are dark horses. These teams are all below .500 (0.39-0.44 range) so it won't take much for a team to make up ground. These teams have around 23-24 games left.

Wins over 23 games with certain win rates:

0.400=9
0.450=10
0.500=12
0.550=13
0.600=14

A 0.550 finish should be enough for any of these teams to make it. Indiana, as noted earlier, is the best positioned imo and Charlotte would be my bet for 8th.