The NBA playoffs begin on April 13th, and suddenly the race for the last few spots in the East is a barnburner. Orlando trails the Heat by one game in the loss column for the No. 8 seed and plays at Miami on Tuesday night. Charlotte is still in the mix. Detroit at No. 6, the Nets at No. 7 and Miami at No. 8 could all still lose their spot with one bad stretch. 

What follows is everything you need to know about where things stand entering Tuesday, March 26th. Teams are listed in order of current seed, with the projected finishing seed below. This post will continue to update for the remainder of the season as we keep track of these races right down to the wire. 

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.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Fight for No. 1

Golden State Warriors (No. 1 seed)

The Warriors are tied in the loss column with the Nuggets for the West's No. 1 seed. The two teams still have one matchup left, but Golden State has a much easier remaining schedule otherwise. 

  • Magic Number to clinch top-four seed: Two
  • Projected seed: No. 1 
  • SportsLine odds: 83.4 percent to get No. 1 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Thunder
  • Remaining games: 9 (five road, four home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .456 (seventh-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: at Grizzlies, at Timberwolves, vs. Hornets
  • Tiebreaker: Currently own tiebreaker 2-1 over Denver (one matchup left)

Denver Nuggets (No. 2 seed)

For a real shot at the No. 1 seed, Denver basically has to win that game against the Warriors on April 2nd. If not, the Warriors will effectively gain two games because that will clinch the tiebreaker for Golden State as well. 

  • Magic Number to clinch top-four seed: Three
  • Projected seed: No. 2 
  • SportsLine odds: 16.2 percent to get No. 1 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Spurs
  • Remaining games: 10 (five road, five home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .570 (fourth-toughest in league)
  • Next three games: vs. Pistons, at Rockets, at Thunder
  • Tiebreaker: Currently trail Warriors 2-1 head-to-head (one matchup left)

Fight for No. 3 seed

Houston Rockets (No. 3 seed)

The Rockets have already clinched a playoff spot and are looking good to secure home-court advantage with a top-four seed. But for Houston, it's all about getting the No. 3 seed to avoid Golden State -- assuming it secures the No. 1 seed -- until the conference finals. Entering Tuesday, Houston is tied in the loss column with No. 4 Portland, which suffered a major blow with Jusuf Nurkic's season-ending injury Monday night. 

  • Magic Number to clinch top-four seed: Five
  • Projected seed: No. 3 
  • SportsLine odds: 60.2 percent to get No. 3 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Clippers
  • Remaining games: 8 (four road, four home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .499 (14th-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: at Bucks, vs. Nuggets, vs. Kings
  • Tiebreaker:  Clinched tiebreaker over GS, already lost tiebreaker to both OKC and Portland

Portland Trail Blazers (No. 4 seed)

Entering Tuesday, the Blazers, who clinched a playoff spot Monday night, are tied in the loss column with Houston for the No. 3 seed and they own the tiebreaker over the Rockets. They also have at least a three-game lead in the loss column over the No. 5 spot, which is changing daily, making a top-four seed for Portland very likely and leaving the No. 3 seed still very much in sight. That's the good news. The bad news is they lost Jusuf Nurkic for the season to a gruesome compound fracture of his left leg Monday night. 

  • Magic Number to clinch top-four seed: Six
  • Projected seed: No. 4
  • SportsLine odds: 79.2 percent top-four seed, 26.3 percent to get No. 3 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Jazz
  • Remaining games: 9 (six road, three home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .476 (11th-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: at Bulls, at Hawks, at Pistons
  • Tiebreaker: Clinched tiebreaker over Houston; already lost tiebreaker to OKC; currently own tiebreaker over Jazz via division record; currently losing tiebreaker to Spurs via conference record

Utah Jazz (No. 5 seed)

The Jazz need one more win, or one Sacramento loss, to clinch a playoff spot. They are still in the hunt for a top-four seed but are a long shot for that. Our projections like them emerging from a crowded field for the No. 5 seed largely because of their soft remaining schedule. 

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: One
  • Projected seed: No. 5
  • SportsLine odds: 21 percent to get top-four seed
  • Current first-round matchup: at Blazers
  • Remaining games: 8 (five home, three road)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .467 (eighth-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: vs. Lakers, vs. Wizards, vs. Hornets
  • Tiebreaker: Clinched tiebreaker over Spurs and Clippers; lost tiebreaker to OKC; currently losing tiebreaker with Houston (division leader)

Los Angeles Clippers (No. 6 seed)

The Clippers, winners of nine of their last 10, are currently the No. 6 seed but our projections have them falling to No. 7. They have a one-game lead over San Antonio and OKC entering Tuesday. 

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: One
  • Projected seed: No. 7
  • SportsLine odds: 100 percent to make playoffs
  • Current first-round matchup: at Rockets
  • Remaining games: 8 (three road, five home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .526 (seventh-toughest in league)
  • Next three games: at Timberwolves, at Bucks, vs. Cavaliers
  • Tiebreaker: Already lost tiebreaker to Jazz, currently losing tiebreaker to Spurs via conference record; currently have slim tiebreaker advantage over OKC via conference record

San Antonio Spurs (No. 7 seed)

The Spurs are currently No. 7 but our projections have them bumping the Clippers to end up in the No. 6 seed. The fact that the Jazz own the tiebreaker over San Antonio makes getting to the No. 5 seed a longer shot. 

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: Two
  • Projected seed: No. 6
  • SportsLine odds: 1.2 percent to get top-four seed
  • Current first-round matchup: at Nuggets
  • Remaining games: 8 (four home, four road)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .412 (second-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: at Hornets, vs. Cavaliers, vs. Kings
  • Tiebreaker: Clinched tiebreaker over Thunder via head to head;  currently own tiebreaker over Clippers via conference record; currently own tiebreaker over Blazers via conference record; already lost tiebreaker to Jazz

Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 8 seed)

Remember when the Thunder were gunning for a top-three seed with eyes on No. 2? Now they're projected to finish in the final Western playoff spot, which could very well mean a first-round matchup with Golden State. The No. 6 seed is the goal for all these lower teams because that would mean avoiding Golden State in the first round no matter how those top two seeds shake out. 

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: Two
  • Projected seed: No. 8
  • SportsLine odds: 100 percent to make playoffs
  • Current first-round matchup: at Warriors
  • Remaining games: 8 (six home, two road)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .558 (fifth-toughest in league)
  • Next three games: vs. Pacers, vs. Nuggets, vs. Mavericks
  • Tiebreaker: Own tiebreaker over Houston, Portland and Utah; already lost tiebreaker to Spurs; currently losing tiebreaker to Clippers

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Fighting for No. 1 seed

Milwaukee Bucks (No. 1 seed)

The Bucks have a four-game lead in the loss column over Toronto and they own the tiebreaker. The No. 1 seed, both in the East and overall, is pretty secure at this point. 

  • Magic Number to clinch No. 1 seed: Four
  • Projected seed: No. 1
  • SportsLine odds: 99.2 percent to get No. 1 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Heat
  • Remaining games: 8 (five home, three road)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .520 (ninth-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: vs. Rockets, vs. Clippers, at Hawks
  • Tiebreaker: Own tiebreaker over Raptors

Toronto Raptors (No. 2 seed)

The Raptors are pretty locked into the East's No. 2 seed -- four games back of No. 1 Milwaukee and four games ahead of No. 3 Philadelphia, the Raptors also own the tiebreaker over Philadelphia making that lead effectively five games. 

  • Magic Number to clinch No. 2 seed: Four
  • Projected seed: No. 2
  • SportsLine odds: 0.8 percent to get No. 1 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Nets
  • Remaining games: 8 (five road, three home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .395 (easiest in league)
  • Next three games: vs. Bulls, at Knicks, at Bulls
  • Tiebreaker: Own tiebreaker over Sixers, already lost tiebreaker to Bucks

Fighting for Home-Court Advantage

Philadelphia 76ers (No. 3 seed)

The Sixers have a two-game lead in the loss column over No. 4 Indiana and they also own the tiebreaker, making that lead three games for all intents and purposes. You can pretty much book the Sixers into the No. 3 seed -- over 92 percent according to our projections. 

  • Magic Number to clinch top-four seed: Four
  • Projected seed: No. 3
  • SportsLine odds: 99.8 percent to get top-four seed, 92.6 percent to get No. 3 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Pistons
  • Remaining games: 8 (five road, three home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .439 (third-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: vs. Nets, at Timberwolves, at Mavericks
  • Tiebreaker: Own tiebreaker over Pacers; already lost tiebreaker to Bucks, Raptors and Celtics

Indiana Pacers (No. 4 seed)

The Pacers are two games up on the Celtics for the No. 4 seed, but the teams have two games remaining, so Boston still controls its own destiny to catch the Pacers. The first of those two remaining matchups is this Friday. 

  • Magic Number to clinch top-four seed: 6
  • Projected seed: No. 4
  • SportsLine odds: 90.1 percent to get top-four seed; 6 percent to get No. 3 seed
  • Current first-round matchup: vs. Celtics
  • Remaining games: 8 (four home, four road)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .513 (13th-toughest in league)
  • Next three games: at Thunder, at Celtics, vs. Magic
  • Tiebreaker: Already lost tiebreaker to Sixers, season series with Boston tied 1-1 with two to play

Boston Celtics (No. 5 seed)

As mentioned above, the Celtics trail the Pacers by two games for the No. 4 spot with two head-to-head matchups remaining. These two teams will most likely face off in the first round, with home-court advantage being the only thing left to settle. Our projections do not like Boston's chances of catching the Pacers. 

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: One
  • Projected seed: No. 5 
  • SportsLine odds: 10.1 percent to get top-four seed
  • Current first-round matchup: at Pacers
  • Remaining games: 8 (five road, three home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .482 (12th-toughest in league)
  • Next three games: at Cavaliers, vs. Pacers, at Nets
  • Tiebreaker: Clinched tiebreaker over Sixers, season series with Indiana tied 1-1 with two to play

Rounding Out the Field

Detroit Pistons (No. 6 seed)

This is where things get dicey in the East, with five teams still in the hunt for the final three spots. Detroit is the leader in the clubhouse with a one-game lead over Brooklyn and Miami, the current No. 7 and 8 seeds, and a two-game lead over current No. 9 seed Orlando, who the Pistons play on Thursday. 

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: Seven
  • Projected seed: No. 6
  • SportsLine Projection: 92.5 percent to make playoffs
  • Current first-round matchup: at Sixers
  • Remaining games: 9 (four road, five home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .517 (10th-toughest in league)
  • Next three games: at Nuggets, vs. Magic, vs. Blazers
  • Tiebreaker: Currently losing tiebreaker to Miami via Heat being a division leader, already lost tiebreaker to Nets

Brooklyn Nets (No. 7 seed)

The big thing in the Nets' pocket is they've already clinched the tiebreaker against the Magic, so they basically have a two-game hold on a playoff spot right now. That's the reason they have a lower magic number to clinch a playoff spot than the Pistons, who are ahead of them in the standings. That said, Brooklyn's finishing schedule is brutal. Just look below at their next three games. 

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: Six
  • Projected seed: No. 7
  • SportsLine odds: 80.1 percent to make playoffs
  • Current first-round matchup: at Raptors
  • Remaining games: 7 (four home, three road)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .642 (toughest in league)
  • Next three games: at 76ers, vs. Celtics, vs. Bucks
  • Tiebreaker: Clinched tiebreaker over Pistons and Magic, trail season series vs. Miami 2-1 with one to play

Miami Heat (No. 8 seed)

Miami has a monster matchup with Orlando Tuesday night. The Heat have a one-game lead over the Magic for the final playoff spot. The Hornets are just two games back of Miami, as well.   

  • Magic Number to clinch playoff spot: 8
  • Projected seed: No. 8
  • SportsLine odds: 67.6 percent to make playoffs
  • Current first-round matchup: at Bucks
  • Remaining games: 9 (five road, four home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .502 (14th-toughest in league)
  • Next three games: vs. Magic, vs. Mavericks, at Knicks
  • Tiebreaker: Currently own tiebreaker over Detroit and Brooklyn, currently trail Orlando 2-1 in season series

Outside Looking In

Orlando Magic (No. 9 seed)

If Orlando wants to make the playoffs, it has to look at this Miami game on Tuesday night as a must win. If they can do that, their odds of making the playoffs will change dramatically. If they can beat Detroit in the following game, their odds will really go up. Orlando's chances of making the postseason have already risen almost 20 percent from this time last week. 

  • Projected seed: No. 9
  • SportsLine odds: 56.9 percent to make playoffs
  • Remaining games: 8 (six road, two home)
  • Strength of remaining schedule: .486 (13th-easiest in league)
  • Next three games: at Heat, at Pistons, at Pacers
  • Tiebreaker: Currently leads Miami 2-1 in season series; already lost tiebreaker to Nets; currently trail Pistons via 2-1 deficit in season series with one matchup remaining