Standings and predictions are updated after the Knicks and Lakers game
NBA Playoff Race Heats: Updated Standings and Predictions as Regular Season Nears Its End
Losing to the New York Knicks by a score of 112-108 on Sunday night was a setback for the Lakers, who are currently out of playoff contention.
Los Angeles’s record dropped to 33-35 with the defeat, dropping them from the ninth to the tenth seed in the Western Conference. That, however, is the current state of things in the West.
LeBron James has missed multiple games with a foot tendon injury and is expected to miss a few more. The good news for Anthony Davis and the company is that the team has stayed afloat without him.
The Lakers still have a chance to make the playoffs, but with only about 15 games remaining, they must pick up the pace.
Updated standings and a preview of the final few weeks of the regular season are provided below.
Eastern Conference Standings
- Milwaukee Bucks (48-19)
- Boston Celtics (47-21)
- Philadelphia 76ers (45-22)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (43-27)
- Brooklyn Nets (39-29)
- New York Knicks (40-30)
- Miami Heat (36-33)
- Atlanta Hawks (34-34)
- Toronto Raptors (32-36)
- Chicago Bulls (31-36)
- Indiana Pacers (31-37)
- Washington Wizards (31-37)
- Orlando Magic (28-40)
- Charlotte Hornets (22-48)
- Detroits Pistons (15-53)
Western Conference Standings
- Denver Nuggets: (46-22)
- Sacramento Kings: (40-26)
- Memphis Grizzlies (40-26)
- Phoenix Suns: (37-30)
- Los Angeles Clippers (36-33)
- Golden State Warriors (35-33)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (34-34)
- Dallas Mavericks (34-34)
- Utah Jazz (33-35)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (33-35)
- Los Angeles Lakers (33-35)
- New Orleans Pelicans (33-35)
- Portland Trail Blazers (31-37)
- San Antonio Spurs: (17-50)
- Houston Rockets: (15-52
Milwaukee has surpassed Boston to claim the top seed in the East, but they have yet to pull completely ahead of the Celtics. Only 1.5 games separate them.
On March 30, the final meeting between Boston and Milwaukee will take place, and it will undoubtedly have major playoff-seeding implications.
The fifth and sixth place race is also very close between the Knicks and the Nets. Over the past few weeks, the positions of the neighboring teams have changed several times, most recently with Brooklyn reclaiming the fifth spot.
The Miami Heat’s inability to close the 3.5-game gap between them and the sixth-place New York Knicks is one of the more surprising developments, as it means the Heat are now even further from making the playoffs.
While Miami has shown flashes of last year’s East No. 1 seed, it needs to be more consistent to look like a serious contender.
Now that time is running out; the Heat will likely have to participate in their first-ever play-in game.
As in the Eastern Conference, the top of the Western has remained stable, with the Nuggets maintaining a five-game lead over the Sacramento Kings.
Things get exciting in the middle of the standings, where the fifth seed is only 4.5 games ahead of the thirteenth.
It helped the Lakers, who got off to a slow start in 2022, make up ground quickly in the standings.
Only about a month of the regular season, so there’s still time for many surprises that could completely reshape the conference.
Final Thoughts
The NBA season is approaching its final stretch, and the race for playoff spots is heating up. With NBA updates on the standings and predictions after the Knicks and Lakers game, it’s clear that a lot of movement is happening in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.
In the East, the battle for the top two spots between Milwaukee and Boston is still ongoing, with a crucial game between the two teams scheduled for the end of March. Meanwhile, the Knicks and Nets are fighting for fifth and sixth place, with the Miami Heat struggling to catch up.
In the West, the top of the standings is stable, but the middle is where things get exciting, with the Lakers making up ground quickly and still having a chance to make a playoff run.
As the regular season ends, there’s still time for surprises and unexpected developments that could reshape the conference. Fans can look forward to an exciting future to the season, with the playoffs just around the corner.
