There’s a “playoff race” out in the East. Who is in control?

Davis Rich | Co-News Editor

Heading into April, we already know how the playoffs are shaping up. The top five seeds in each conference have clinched playoff berths. New Orleans may challenge the Westbrooks–sorry, Thunder– for the final spot in the West, but the Westbrooks–Thunder– are 14-7 since the All-Star break. 

The only competition comes from the Eastern Conference, where five teams are competing to get beaten down by Atlanta and Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. It may not be pretty, but it’s a compelling storyline to follow over the final ten games or so of the season. Here’s a look at who is trending up and trending down in the race for the seven and eight seeds in the East.

  Eastern Conference Standings:

7. Miami Heat (34-40)

8. Brooklyn Nets (33-40, 0.5 game back)

9. Boston Celtics (33-41, 1 game back)

10. Indiana Pacers (32-42, 2 games back)

11. Charlotte Hornets (31-42, 2.5 games back)

Trending up: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets

Boston and Brooklyn have been the two best teams in the East playoff race since the All-Star break, with a combined record of 25-19. The Nets have won eight of ten, thanks to a balanced attack (seven players averaging double figures in the past ten games) paced by a vintage Brook Lopez performance that earned him player of the week accolades. Brooklyn has been involving Lopez in more pick and rolls, dragging him away from ineffective iso post-ups. Production from veterans like Lopez, Joe Johnson, Thaddeus Young, and Jarrett Jack is just what GM Billy King envisioned when making a series of moves that has gotten his name dragged through the mud. The Nets play the Hawks twice in April, but have some cupcakes (Orlando, New York, Milwaukee) that they need to capitalize on. 

The Celtics have cooled off a bit since winning seven of eight in early March, but big wins over Brooklyn and Charlotte in the past week have them in solid position going into April. The Celtics have made it clear that they are actually trying to make the playoffs this year, even after seemingly making it clear that they were rebuilding (trading for draft picks, unloading Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green, loading up on cheap contracts, racking up a lot of DNP–coach’s decisions). The fact of the matter is the Celtics probably don’t want to be mediocre, as Zach Lowe explored today on Grantland. Right now, they appear to be headed on that path, and it’s too late to turn back, at least for this season. Because the Celtics will get a mid-1st round pick no matter what at this point, why not make a run? Boston should enjoy the ride.

Neutral: Miami Heat

Miami’s status in this post represents their season so far. It’s just been kinda “meh.” Aside from Hassan Whiteside’s emergence and Goran Dragic’s arrival, Miami isn’t very exciting. They are a defensive-first team that struggles to score, plays at the second-slowest pace in the league, is made up of one superstar (Dwayne Wade), one fringe superstar (Dragic) one enigma (Whiteside), and a bunch of decidedly average NBA players. Everyone get excited for a Mario Chalmers-Tyler Johnson-James Ennis-Josh McRoberts-Udonis Haslem lineup! Credit the coaching staff for keeping the Heat in the playoff race all year and not letting the Lebron hangover sink the team.  

Trending down: Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets

These teams tend to have a lot in common, huh? Not much offense, a whole lot of defense, a lack of star power. This is why I poo-pooed this “playoff race.” Instead of prison, felons should be forced sift through Pacer and Hornet game film and make highlight tapes. Talk about deterrence.

Indiana has lost eight of ten since I lauded them, and the Hornets have lost seven of ten. Rodney Stuckey has gone ice-cold (33% from the field), yet is still jacking up ten shots per game. A strong George Hill performance over the past two weeks is keeping the team afloat. Indiana controls its own destiny, playing Boston, Charlotte, and Miami consecutively to kick off the month. 

Charlotte has seemed to lose seven of ten, then win three, then lose seven of ten throughout the entire season. Lance Stephenson has been awful, getting benched against Boston on Monday, Al Jefferson has regressed, and Kemba Walker has not found any offensive consistency. Charlotte could get hot in April, thanks to a fluffy schedule, but I’m not expecting too much from the Hornets. At least they have cool uniforms.