We’re a little over a third of the way through the 2020-21 NBA regular season, shortened to 72 games this year. This year, the postseason will include the top ten teams in each conference. The seventh-place team will host the eighth-place game in a play-in at the end of the regular season, with the winner taking the seventh seed. The ninth-place team will host the tenth-place team, and the winner of that game will visit the loser of the 7-8 game, to play for the eighth seed.
Let’s take a look at the current standings and discuss some potential conference final matchups as you consider your NBA betting choices for NBA futures.
NBA News: Eastern Conference Finals — Possible Matchups
East Playoff Standings (2/14/2021)
- Philadelphia 76ers (18-9)
- Milwaukee Bucks (16-10, 1 ½ games back)
- Brooklyn Nets (16-12, 2 ½ GB)
- Indiana Pacers (14-13, 4 GB)
- Boston Celtics (13-13, 4 ½ GB)
- Charlotte Hornets (13-14, 5 GB)
- New York Knicks (13-15, 5 ½ GB)
- Toronto Raptors (12-14, 5 ½ GB)
- Miami Heat (11-15, 6 ½ GB)
- Atlanta Hawks (11-15, 6 ½ GB)
It’s a crowded Eastern Conference, but it’s also a very mediocre collection of teams as well. COVID-19 cases have kept a number of teams from playing with full rosters for a number of games, but it’s interesting that the fourth seed in the East is just a game over .500, just 2 ½ games ahead of the tenth-place team. So there’s obviously room for a lot of shifting as the rest of the season goes on.
The Philadelphia 76ers are an interesting team. However, it is worth noting that they have had the easiest schedule in the NBA to date, so they should start to fall back to the rest of the conference. Even so, it’s important to take advantage of the schedule. They are now 14-1 with their full starting lineup. With one of their five starters out, though, they are 4-8. Their defense ranks second in the NBA, while their offense is 13th. When their starters are in, though, they average 120.1 points per 100 possessions, which is third among the 23 starting lineups that have played at least 100 minutes together. The unit’s effective field goal percentage (60.8%) leads the NBA. And remember that sharpshooter Seth Curry has missed quite a few games this season. As he works his way back in, the Philadelphia offense could stay hot.
So could these Sixers claw their way to an East final? If the season ended today, they would be across the bracket from the Milwaukee Bucks, who have dropped three in a row. The team does not have Jrue Holiday due to COVID-19 protocols; when he returns, Giannis Antetokounmpo will have some help on the scoring end, but the question for the Bucks is whether or not they have enough physicality to get through the first two rounds of the playoffs. With Giannis the last few seasons, they have wilted when the pressure has amped up, which is not the way to an East final.
A Philadelphia-Brooklyn East final would be fun to watch. The Big Three in Brooklyn are all about filling up the basket, while Philadelphia takes a little more of an old-school approach, combining offense with defense. The 76ers would be able to get the stops, but when the series turned into a track meet, would the 76ers be able to keep up?
After those three teams, things really drop off in the East. Boston is sitting at .500 despite having Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker. They need to add some bench depth so that the team’s offense doesn’t fall off the table when one of the starters needs to take a bit of a rest. For now, though, the Sixers meeting the Nets makes the most sense for an East final prediction. As we saw with the conference standings, though, a lot could change between now and the end of the season.
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