On Saturday, there were two seeding changes in the Eastern Conference playoff picture: The Nets jumped the Knicks into the No. 5 seed, and the Bulls jumped the Wizards into the the final play-in spot.
Below is a comprehensive snapshot of where things stand in the East entering play on Sunday, March 12. This post will update daily throughout the remainder of the regular season, or until all seeds are clinched.
Reminder on 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.
READ: Western Conference playoff picture
NOTE: Our SportsLine model, developed by predictive data engineer Stephen Oh, simulates the entire season 10,000 times to produce the most unbiased and precise projections imaginable.
The Bucks fell at Golden State on Saturday and now hold just a two-loss lead over No. 2 Boston with one head-to-head matchup remaining, which will also decide the tiebreaker.
Projected seed: 1Current first-round matchup: TBDTiebreaker vs. Boston: Tied 1-1 with one to playTiebreaker 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 victory over Atlanta on Saturday, Boston now trails the Bucks by two in the loss column with one head-to-head matchup remaining, which will decide the tiebreaker.
Projected seed: 2Current first-round matchup: Winner of Heat/Hawks play-inTiebreaker vs. Milwaukee: Tied 1-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Boston clinchedTiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Cavs clinched
The Sixers trail the No. 2 Celtics by just one in the loss column, but Boston has clinched the tiebreaker, making that an effective two-game deficit.
Projected seed: 3Current first-round matchup: vs. New YorkTiebreaker vs. Milwaukee: Tied 1-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Boston clinchedTiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Cavs lead 2-1 with one to play
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (42-27)
The Cavs hold a two-loss lead over the No. 5 Nets and a three-loss lead over the No. 6 Knicks with two head-to-head matchups left against each.
Projected seed: 4Current first-round matchup: vs. BrooklynTiebreaker vs. Boston: Cavs clinchedTiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Cavs lead 2-1 with one to play
Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets lead 1-0 with two to play
5. Brooklyn Nets (38-29)
Brooklyn jumps into the No. 5 seed by virtue of New York’s loss to the Clippers on Saturday.
Projected seed: 6Current first-round matchup: at ClevelandTiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Nets lead 1-0 with two to playTiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks currently own via division win percentage
Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Nets lead 2-0 with one to playTiebreaker 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 quest to stay above the play-in line, the Knicks hold a three-game lead over the No. 7 Heat with two head-to-head matchups remaining.
Projected seed: 5Current first-round matchup: at PhiladelphiaTiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Knicks currently own via division win percentage
Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Knicks lead 2-0 with two to play
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT
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 at Orlando on Saturday. Miami still trails a playoff spot by three.
Projected seed: 7Current first-round matchup: vs. Hawks (play-in)Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks lead 2-0 with two to playTiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets lead 2-0 with two to playTiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Miami clinched
Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Raptors lead 2-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Washington: Miami leads 2-1 with one to play
8. Atlanta Hawks (34-34)
After losing to Boston on Saturday, Atlanta remains an effective two games back of No. 7 Miami, which owns the tiebreaker.
Projected seed: 8Current first-round matchup: at Miami (Play-in)Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets lead 2-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Miami: Heat clinched
Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Atlanta clinchedTiebreaker vs. Washington: Atlanta leads 2-1 with one to playTiebreaker 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 the No. 11 Wizards.
Projected seed: 10Current first-round matchup: vs. Bulls (Play-in)Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Raptors lead 2-1 with one to play
Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Hawks clinchedTiebreaker vs. Washington: Tied 1-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers clinchedTiebreaker vs. Chicago: Raptors clinched
10. Chicago Bulls (31-36)
The Bulls jumped into the play-in picture with a win over Houston on Saturday. Chicago currently owns the tiebreaker over Washington via conference win percentage.
Projected seed: LotteryCurrent first-round matchup: at Raptors (Play-in)Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Raptors clinchedTiebreaker vs. Washington: Bulls currently own via conference win percentageTiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers clinched
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
11. Washington Wizards (31-36)
The Wizards fell again to Atlanta on Friday and are now tied in the loss column with the No. 10 Bulls as they try to hang onto a play-in spot.
Projected seed: 9Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Tied 1-1 with one to playTiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers currently own via conference win percentageTiebreaker vs. Chicago: Bulls currently own via conference win percentage
12. Indiana Pacers (30-37)
The Pacers are one loss back of the 9-11 seeds.
Projected seed: LotteryTiebreaker vs. Toronto: Pacers clinchedTiebreaker vs. Washington: Pacers currently own via conference win percentageTiebreaker vs. Chicago: Pacers clinched
