Your weekly look at the NBA and what you need to know about the standings and schedule for the week of Dec. 26.
INSIDE THE STANDINGS
Click here for the full NBA standings.
A quick tiers check to get us started. Yes, all of this is too early, but this is just to let you know where teams stand in case you haven't been paying attention.
East No. 1
In the hunt: Cavaliers, Raptors
The Cavaliers' victory against the Warriors kept them two games over Toronto in what most assumed would be a loss. So the Raptors will have to be patient and survive this long West Coast road trip to stay within range. What the Raptors have to do is stay within a few games or take the top spot before LeBron James takes his annual sabbatical in January, then create separation, and hold it. That's not going to be easy, but the Raptors legitimately need to make this a priority. They're trying to win every game, sure, and there's no reason to risk injury, but if they want to have any hope of beating Cleveland in a potential Eastern Conference finals, that formula starts with having home-court advantage.
The Cavaliers aren't invulnerable, as far as seedings go. They just don't care as much about it. The Raptors, however, have every reason to put the pedal to the floor. Getting homecourt won't mean they beat the Cavaliers in the playoffs, but not getting it would significantly reduce their chances.
East home-court first round
*Locks: Cavaliers, Raptors
In the hunt: Celtics, Hornets, Bucks
Alive: Pacers, Bulls, Pistons, Wizards
There's not enough separation yet to rule any of these teams out. Boston is a near-lock at this point, having gotten healthy and ridden out the storm the way it has. The defense still makes me a little queasy, but there's just too much talent there to have serious doubts. Charlotte would be my favorite for the 4 seed. It's clearly above Milwaukee and the rest of the East. But the Hornets have a penchant for dropping games they need to win. Charlotte and Boston have had real trouble with teams over. 500.
The bigger question than homecourt, realistically, is who can stay out of the Cavaliers' bracket. This is where things will get complicated if the Raptors hang around. You would much rather be a 6 seed in the East with the Cavs in the No. 1 spot. Yes, you have to go on the road against a better team, but none of those teams after Cleveland scares you. If you want to make a run to the Eastern Conference finals outside of the 2 seed (and I consider the Raptors a near-lock for the No. 2), you have to go through the 2-7 or 3-6 matchup.
To put it another way: I would rather be in that range of teams with the Knicks, Bulls, etc. than in the 4-5 Hornets-Bucks spot.
If Cleveland doesn't get the 1 seed, then it gets all crazy.
*As much of a lock as you can be in December, based on what we know, anyway
East 7th-8th seeds
In the hunt: Knicks, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons, Hawks, Wizards, Magic
Welcome to the party, Wizards. I'm keeping the Magic here because they're only 1.5 games back of the 8 seed right now, but my confidence, let's just say, is not high. On the contrary, the Wizards have something cooking. If they can put together a strong run through the end of January, we'll forget all about that horrific start to the season.
It's hard to feel good about any of these teams right now. The Bulls I still think have the talent and formula to get back into that third tier with the Celtics and Hornets, but they have to actually get themselves back under control. The offense is starting to bite them. I'm growing concerned about the Knicks based on chemistry comments and how fragile they are, injury-wise. Atlanta is the team you would think you could trust. I still kind of expect the Hawks to right themselves at some point and go on a run.
Bear in mind that New York's only a game back in the loss column of Charlotte; these are all perceived tiers, and everything can change week by week. Everyone is still right there, because it's still December.
I'm ready to drop Miami, and of course Brooklyn and the Sixers have been done in terms of playoffs since July.
West No. 1 seed
Near locks: Warriors, Spurs
Some changes here. I'm bumping the Clippers out. This seems crazy in December, but think of it this way. The Clippers are five back in the loss column from the Warriors and Golden State has a 1-0 advantage in tiebreaker already. The Warriors have five losses, total, so far. They would have to double their loss total while the Clippers go undefeated just for L.A. to catch them. They can chip away at the advantage over the coming months. The Warriors aren't invincible like they seemed last year in the regular season. But the Clippers are too inconsistent to believe in it, and that's before this rash of injuries beset them with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and J.J. Redick all missing time.
Realistically, the Warriors are already a near-lock, which won't surprise you. The Spurs' schedule gets way more difficult the longer the season goes, and they haven't looked as rock solid despite their record, either. Houston is interesting, having won 10 in a row and only three back in the loss column, but they would have to maintain their current level of play for literally months to catch them. Houston is great, but games like the Lakers loss on opening night wind up hurting when you're trying to catch the Warriors.
West home-court first round
Locks: Warriors, Spurs
Near-Locks: Rockets, Clippers
San Antonio is going to win enough games. It's just what they do. I like Houston's ceiling more than the Spurs' at this point, but you just do not doubt San Antonio. It never works out well, despite their being a 6 seed two years ago. Houston looks great now, but hasn't been hit with any real adversity, outside of a legitimately challenging schedule. We'll see how they do with focus, intensity and consistency once this winning streak cools, but I think they have the formula to sustain.
The Clippers would have to really screw this up not to have homecourt, but really screwing things up is a very Clippers approach. Plus, they were touch-and-go with losing the 4 seed to the Grizzlies for a while before the injuries buried Memphis.
Don't count out Utah or Memphis here. They are hungry and they hang around. The Jazz, despite this losing streak, have the resume and metrics to really make a run. Both Memphis and Utah have already had bad injury luck, which makes you wonder if they're past the worst of it, or if it's a start to a theme. Memphis is only two games back of the Clippers.
I'm ready to mark out OKC from this group. The Thunder will start the playoffs on the road. (I wrote this last week and already the Thunder are starting to change my mind on this one. They're finally putting away bad opponents, which is a bigger deal than you would think.)
West 6th-7th-8th seeds
Near locks: Thunder, Jazz
In the hunt: Blazers, Nuggets, Kings, Lakers
This turned into a big pile of "ugh." The Thunder are a lock, Utah too. Portland is in a lot of trouble. The offense has cooled, the defense is a complete mess and they're starting to point fingers. It's bad. It's really bad.
That said, Portland is 3-12 against teams over .500, which is a high number of games vs. better competition. Meanwhile, the Blazers are 10-7 against teams below .500. As the schedule balances out, they can probably right themselves.
The Kings, unbelievably, might be in the best position. 2016 is weird, man.
I don't have any faith in Denver or the Lakers to really make the kind of run they'll need, but the door is definitely open. I was ready to close the door on the Pelicans, Suns, Wolves and Mavericks, but then I wasn't expecting all of the teams listed above to all turn bad (except for the Kings who are on a win streak). The Pelicans are only three games back. so these teams are technically still alive. I'm just not optimistic, let's say.
What to watch this week
Game(s) of the Week
| DATE | AWAY | HOME | TIME | TV/STREAM |
| Wednesday, Dec. 28 |  |  | 10:30 p.m. ET | NBA TV/None |
| Wednesday, Dec. 28 |  |  | 8:00 p.m. ET | TNT/TNT app |
THE A VS. B TEAMS: Toronto played the Warriors tough last season and in their first matchup this season. Boston hopes to be a team that can take on the Cavs and win in the Eastern Conference finals. Yes, these two games seem predictable, with the Warriors and Cavaliers significantly ahead of their opponents. But think of what a victory by Toronto or Boston would mean. Toronto would consider it a major step and that might discourage a trade for a power forward upgrade. Same with Boston. However, if the Celtics get housed by the Cavs, then it's probably a sign they need to cash in all those assets and find a deal.
The Raptors and Celtics are the little brothers, but there are some stakes here, both in the short and long term. And hey, these are four of the top 10 teams in the league going at it.
Elsewhere...
Wait, a minute, are the Kings for real? The Kings have won three straight since all the ruckus with DeMarcus Cousins last week. They will be facing the Sixers on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET, League Pass), the vomiting-on-themselves Blazers on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, League Pass), and the Grizzlies on Sunday (5 p.m. ET, League Pass). If they run this thing to 6-0, they'll have taken a significant step forward with a chance to actually get a firm foothold on the 8 seed.
Survival: Both Houston (without Clint Capela) and the Clippers (without Blake Griffin and possibly Chris Paul, maybe J.J. Redick) have to keep pace in the West without key members of the team. OKC and Memphis are on their tails, and the Rockets will face the Clippers on Friday in L.A. (8 p.m. ET, NBATV). That game could wind up mattering a great deal in how the playoffs shake out. If you want the best seed possible, you're going to have to win games when you're short-handed.
