On Saturday, there were two seeding changes in the Eastern Conference playoff picture: The Nets leapfrogged the Knicks at No. 5 and the Bulls leapfrogged the Wizards into the final play-in spot.
Below is a comprehensive snapshot of the situation in the East as play begins on Sunday, March 12. This post will be updated daily throughout the remainder of the regular season or until all seeds are closed.
A reminder of how the play-in tournament works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed.
READING: Image of the Western Conference playoffs
NOTE: Our SportsLine model, developed by predictive data engineer Stephen Oh, simulates the entire season 10,000 times to produce the most unbiased and accurate projections imaginable.
The Bucks fell to Golden State on Saturday and now hold a two-game lead over No. 2 Boston with one game remaining, which will also decide the tiebreaker.
- Predicted Seed: 1
- Current First Round Match: TBD
- Tiebreaker vs. Boston: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Sixers lead 2-1 with one to play
2. Boston Celtics (47-21)
After Milwaukee’s loss to Golden State and their own win over Atlanta on Saturday, Boston now trails the Bucks by two in the loss column with a tiebreaker game remaining.
- Predicted Seed: 2
- Current First Round Match: Heat/Hawks play-in winner
- Tiebreaker vs. Milwaukee: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Boston tightened up
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Cavs tight
The Sixers trail the No. 2 Celtics by just one in the loss column, but Boston swept the tiebreaker, making it an effective two-game deficit.
- Predicted Seed: 3
- Current First Round Match: against New York
- Tiebreaker vs. Milwaukee: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Boston tightened up
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Cavs lead 2-1 with one to play
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (42-27)
The Cavs hold a two-game lead over the No. 5 Nets and a three-game lead over the No. 6 Knicks with two games remaining against each.
- Predicted Seed: 4
- Current First Round Match: vs. Brooklyn
- Tiebreaker vs. Boston: The Cavs tightened up
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Cavs lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets lead 1-0 with two to play
5. Brooklyn Nets (38-29)
Brooklyn jumps to No. 5 because of New York’s loss to the Clippers on Saturday.
- Predicted Seed: 6
- Current First Round Match: in Cleveland
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Nets lead 1-0 with two to play
- Tiebreaker vs. New York: The Knicks currently own the winning percentage through division
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Nets lead 2-0 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Nets lead 2-1 with one to play
6. New York Knicks (39-30)
The Knicks fell behind Brooklyn with their loss to the Clippers on Saturday. In their bid to stay above the play-in line, the Knicks have a three-game lead over the No. 7 Heat with two body matches remaining.
- Predicted Seed: 5
- Current First Round Match: in Philadelphia
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: The Knicks currently own the winning percentage through division
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Knicks lead 2-0 with two to play
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENTS
7. Miami Heat (36-33)
Miami missed a chance to gain ground on the No. 6 Knicks, who lost to the Clippers, with a loss in Orlando on Saturday. Miami still trails a playoff spot by three.
- Predicted Seed: 7
- Current First Round Match: vs. Hawks (play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks lead 2-0 with two to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets lead 2-0 with two to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Miami tightened up
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Raptors lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Miami leads 2-1 with one to play
8. Atlanta Hawks (34-34)
After Saturday’s loss to Boston, Atlanta remains an effective two games behind No. 7 Miami, who owns the tiebreaker.
- Predicted Seed: 8
- Current First Round Match: in Miami (Play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Heat tight
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Atlanta tightened
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Atlanta leads 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: Bulls lead 2-1 with one to play
9. Toronto Raptors (32-36)
Toronto lost to the Lakers on Friday to fall into a tie in the loss column with the No. 10 Bulls and No. 11 Wizards.
- Predicted Seed: 10
- Current First Round Match: vs. Bulls (Play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Raptors lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: The hawks tightened
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: The Pacers embraced
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: The Raptors tightened up
10. Chicago Bulls (31-36)
The Bulls entered the play-in with a win over Houston on Saturday. Chicago currently holds the tiebreaker over Washington via conference winning percentage.
- Predicted Seed: Lottery
- Current First Round Match: at the Raptors (Play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: The Raptors tightened up
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: The bulls currently own the conference winning percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: The Pacers embraced
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
11. Washington Wizards (31-36)
The Wizards fell again in Atlanta on Friday and are now tied in the loss column with the No. 10 Bulls as they try to stay in a play-in spot.
- Predicted Seed: 9
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: The Pacers currently own the conference winning percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: Bulls currently hold a winning percentage through conference
12. Indiana Pacers (30-37)
The Pacers are one loss back of the 9-11 seed.
- Predicted Seed: Lottery
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: The Pacers embraced
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: The Pacers currently own the conference winning percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: The Pacers embraced