Almost Playoff Time

The NBA Playoffs are just around the corner, with the first games starting this Saturday, and only three teams in the league are still fighting for a spot. In the East the eight teams that will be in the playoffs are Cleveland, Toronto, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Charlotte, Indiana, and Detroit. The only thing left to be decided is the seeding of those teams, and that likely won't change that much. All of those teams have winning records, which is a plus because last year featured two teams that had under .500 records. But I believe the Eastern Conference only has a couple teams capable of even competing with the Western Conference in the Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the obvious first choice, followed by the Toronto Raptors and maybe the Atlanta Hawks. But I think I'm being optimistic, the Raptors are 4-4 versus the top four teams in the West, which isn't horrible, but they are 0-2 versus the Warriors this season. The Hawks are just 2-6 though versus the top four in the West, which is pretty bad. It is also interesting that the top three Eastern Conference teams have a combined record of 0-6 versus the Golden State Warriors. 

In the West, Golden State has the number one seed locked down, and now is going for the all time wins record. They have tied the record at 72-9, and now look to break it against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The Spurs, Thunder, and Clippers round out the top four, and Portland and Memphis have also clinched a playoff spot. That means that the 7th and 8th seeds are still up for grabs, currently Dallas is in line for the 7th, and Utah for the 8th, but the Houston Rockets could still sneak into the playoffs and provide an interesting match-up for the Warriors. Now the Rockets are not in the playoffs yet, and they definitely aren't the same team that made it to the Western Conference Finals last year. But that being said, I would much rather watch a Warriors-Rockets series than a Warriors-Jazz series. 

Despite all of this, the 2016 Playoffs are Warriors' to lose, they will likely break the all time record for regular season wins. So if they don't win the championship I think it is all for nothing, some people might disagree with me, but that's just how I see it.