2019 Playoff Picture

[WestCoastExpress]

14 out of 20 teams will make the playoffs:
- The top-5 seeds in each conference
- 4 Wild-Card spots, which are the 4 next best teams regardless of conference
- The 1st Seed in each Conference will be rewarded with a 1st Round BYE

Updated Sunday, March 3rd, 2019

FINAL PLAYOFF STANDINGS:

Western Conference:
1. Los Angeles Lakers (19-0-0)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (14-5-0)
3. Denver Nuggets (14-5-0)
4. Houston Rockets (13-4-2)
5. Minnesota Timberwolves (12-7)

Eastern Conference:
1. Philadelphia 76'ers (15-4-0)
2. New York Knicks (14-4-1)
3. Milwaukee Bucks (12-7-0)
4. New Orleans Pelicans (12-7-0)
5. Charlotte Hornets (10-9-0)


Wildcard Race:
1. Phoenix Suns (10-8-1)  - WC1
2. Utah Jazz (7-12-0)   - WC2
3. Boston Celtics (6-13-0)  - WC3
4. Golden State Warriors (6-13-0)  - WC4
5. Indiana Pacers (5-14-0)


Note:
BOS and GSW tie-breaker was their H2H regular season match-up. BOS won that week, so they get WC3 and GSW WC4.

Same with #3 and #4 in the East with MIL and NOP.

Same with #2 and #3 in the West with POR and DEN.
Despite the same Winning %, HOU gets the #4 seed due to 13 W's vs. 14 W's for both POR and DEN.

[WestCoastExpress]

Figured with the trade deadline a week and a half away, and playoffs starting in just over a month, it's time to post the standings each week so everyone knows where they stand.

As of right now there's a solid battle going on for the 4 wildcard spots!

There is also a solid battle going on at the top of both conferences for the 1st place seed.
The Denver Nuggets are currently playing (and leading) the LA Lakers which could make the West a tight race to the finish if Denver can hold them off.
In the East, NYK is right behind the top two teams, so there are 3 teams there fighting for that 1st place seed and NOP is right in the mix if they can win out the rest of the way.

The Wildcard certainly is interesting, with all 6 of those teams having a realistic shot at making playoffs! Still lots of time to go in the season (5 matchups including this week's) so anything can still happen!

[Vik]

Good stuff! Should be a tight race to finish for sure for the wild card spots. I think it is somewhat safe to say top 5 in each conference probably won't change just maybe the ranking- though enough time for some upsets to happen. I also wouldn't sleep on a few of these wild cards potentially causing an upset come playoffs. 

The 5-4 close lose to LA a couple of weeks ago still stings would have gave me a small shot at a bye (especially if LA loses this week). Denver winning would at least give them a shot at Bye. Also big week for C's against me this week if they pull off the win it really bumps their wild card chances.

[Greg S]

Shouldn’t the 7-7-1 Suns be in the Wildcard race?

[Brent]

It should be interesting.  I'm glad my Pelicans didn't fall off too much after the AD trade and the emergence of Okafor has helped lessen the blow of not having AD.  If I can get LeVert into the lineup, I'm liking the Pels chances of upsetting some of the more complete teams out there. 

[WestCoastExpress]

Shouldn’t the 7-7-1 Suns be in the Wildcard race?

Whoops, totally missed that. Sorry Greg!

Phoenix is definitely in the wildcard race and probably a lock for a playoff spot unless they lose out!

(Would have caught it with updating things next week, but still, big oops!)

[WestCoastExpress]

Updated Standings with 4 weeks of matchups left to go.

Interesting, as everyone in the East won and kept pace so no movement there.

Wildcard got a little more interesting with all 5-win teams losing and not picking up any ground, giving those 4-win teams a shot to catch up still.


Big match-ups in the Wildcard race this week include:

(5-11-0)  vs.  (5-11-0)
(5-11-0)  vs.  (4-12-0)

[WestCoastExpress]

Updated Standings with 2 Weeks Remaining in the Regular Season.
(With the shortened weeks around the All-Star breaks, the weeks of Feb.11-17 and Feb.18-24 were combined into 1 match-up week. Ends up being 1 week total as games ran Mon-Wed and then resume Thurs-Sun)

Couple of big wins for both GSW and UTA last week to gain ground in the Wildcard race.
BOS lost a close one to of all teams, CHI which stings, and puts them in a tie for that last wildcard slot.

This week's match-ups are tough all-around for those Wildcard teams trying to make up ground, as all of their opponents are ranked higher than them in the standings. Should be an interesting week!

DAL, SAC and ATL will most likely all have to win both weeks to have a real shot, unless IND and BOS lose both week. Still a lot that can happen with the Wildcard Race.

[WestCoastExpress]

The Last Week of Regular Season Play is Upon Us!

Following the All-Star break scheduling, we find ourselves with 1 week left until playoffs and the Wildcard Race down to a battle for those last couple of spots.

Both Boston and Indiana have tough match-ups ahead, with the Celtics facing off against the 13-5 Portland Trail Blazers, while the Pacers match up against the 12-6 Milwaukee Bucks.

They're hoping one or both of Utah and Golden State lose. The Jazz take on the hapless 2-16 Toronto Raptors, so that is almost a certain win for Utah. The Warriors have some stiffer competition in the form of the 11-7 Minnesota Timberwolves. A win for GSW would cement their playoff birth.

The fight for 1st Place in the East is also still alive and well. New York needs a win coupled with a Philadelphia loss. The Knicks go up against the lowly Sacramento Kings who have just got a new GM, while the 76'ers draw a very tough match-up in the form of the 14-4 Denver Nuggets. Should be interesting to see how that match-up shakes down as it is almost certain that NYK takes care of business against the Kings.

Enjoy the final week of the Regular Season everyone! Good luck to all who are fighting for a playoff spot or jockeying for positioning in the standings.



On a side note, thinking ahead to next year, idea proposals to be put to a vote may include:
- More teams get a bye in the 1st Round
- Fewer teams make the playoffs