by There was no seeding movement in the current Eastern Conference playoff picture after Sunday’s slate.
Below is a comprehensive snapshot of the situation in the East when it comes into play on Monday. This post will be updated daily throughout the remainder of the regular season or until all seeds are set.
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
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 beat Washington on Sunday. They trail the No. 2 Celtics by one in the loss column, but Boston has clinched 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
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 (39-29)
Brooklyn remains at No. 5 with a win over the Nuggets on Sunday.
- 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 (40-30)
The Knicks remain at No. 6 with their win over the Lakers on Sunday. In their quest 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 TOURNAMENT
7. Miami Heat (36-33)
Miami still trails No. 6 New York by three in the loss column with two games remaining. They lead the No. 8 Hawks by two efficient games with the tiebreaker secured.
- 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)
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 is tied in the loss column with the No. 10 Bulls with the tiebreaker secured, and one up on the No. 11 Pacers 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: Hawkes hugged
- 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 is one up on NO. 11 Indiana and currently owns the tiebreaker over No. 12 Washington by way of 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: Bulls currently hold a winning percentage through conference
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: The Pacers embraced
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
11. Indiana Pacers (31-37)
The Pacers are one loss back of the 9-10 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
12. Washington Wizards (31-37)
The Wizards have lost seven of their last 10 and are now tied in the loss column with the No. 11 Pacers, one loss behind No. 9 Toronto and No. 10 Chicago.
- 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
