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The last time the Cavs faced the Warriors (2:00) With the NBA schedule being released and an NBA Finals rematch set for Christmas, take an all-access look at Game 7.

The races are tightening, the seeds are being sorted out, the picture is slowly becoming clear. With that, here’s a look at the current playoff picture, and five things to know about each team that’s in or in the running for a spot. If the playoffs started today .. Seeding analysis and magic numbers.

Some notes: Sports. Line data is based on 1. SL’s forecast model. That’s why teams that have yet to clinch have “1. Strength of schedule is courtesy of NBA.

Magic number for the assigned tables refer to their magic number to make the playoffs. Western Conference were decided by a tiebreaker in 2. The same thing happened in the Eastern Conference in 2. Teams wind up clumping together at the end. Tiebreakers matter. Example: If the. Cleveland Cavaliers. Miami (the team currently out of the playoffs with the fewest losses).

Western Conference. The contenders. The.

Golden State Warriors. A playoff spot, the Pacific Division and a top- four seed, along with home court in the first round. Magic number for a top- two seed is two, they clinch with a win against Houston on Tuesday; magic number for the No. San Antonio has the tiebreaker edge over Golden State.

Remaining strength of schedule (via NBA. They have six home games and just three road games remaining. The Dubs are up two games on San Antonio and red hot while.

Kevin Durant. gets closer to returning. Their odds of holding onto that top seed are decent, but even as a second seed they’ll remain a favorite in any playoff matchup, and that’s before Durant gets back. Sports. Line puts them at a 5.

The. San Antonio Spurs. Magic number for a top- two seed and home court in the first two rounds is three. The Spurs have the tiebreaker edge over Golden State and Houston. They trail the Warriors by two games. They have a six- game lead over the.

Houston Rockets. for second place and own the tiebreaker. They’re a lock for a top- two seed. Of their final nine opponents, seven are currently battling for playoff position. They have a . 5. 60 strength of schedule. The Spurs are going to prioritize rest over everything, but they haven’t started that yet. Their first- round opponent differential is huge between the Nos.

It’s the gap between the. Denver Nuggets. or Blazers and Grizzlies/Thunder/Clippers.

So there’s real motivation to keep pursuing the No. Sports. Line gives them just a 2. The Rockets have clinched a playoff spot and home court in the first round. They trail the Spurs by eight games and San Antonio has the tiebreaker; they’re not catching the No. That ship has sailed. They lead the. Utah Jazz. The Rockets are a lock for the No.

Houston’s first- round opponent is going to be tough. The good news is that the Rockets are a combined 6- 3 against the. Los Angeles Clippers. Oklahoma City Thunder. Memphis Grizzlies. But the Grizzlies’ toughness, the Clippers’ talent and the Thunder’s defense plus.

Russell Westbrook. It’s not going to be easy. Sports. Line only gives them a 5. That second- round matchup is obviously going to be a challenge, but there’s no discernible path between the Warriors and the Spurs that is preferable.

However, the Rockets’ point differential against the Spurs was a minus- 8 in a series they lost 3- 1. Watch Love Is All You Need? Online Hollywoodreporter here. They played San Antonio tough and the coin flips didn’t go their way. Houston beat Golden State, but that was in November. The Durant injury question is indecipherable; there’s no real solution to that equation. Houston hasn’t rested players this season, at all. It hardly plays any teams tanking or resting the rest of the way, but still should have locked the third seed by the end of the week.

The dangerous second tier. The Utah Jazz have returned to the playoffs, clinching a playoff berth Sunday. The Jazz’s magic number for home court in the first round is seven. Their lead on the Clippers is down to just 1. Clippers somehow lost to Sacramento on Sunday. Utah’s loss to L. A. OKC also owns the tiebreaker against Utah.

The Jazz might wind up being an underdog in any first- round series. The other teams have more experience and proven success. They can also win any of their potential 4- 5 matchups. But if they fall to a sixth or seventh seed, they’re in real trouble.

The Rockets, Spurs or Warriors would probably have too much firepower for them. Sports. Line is starting to sour on them, giving them a 5. Their formula for an upset is pretty clear. Take the fourth seed, outlast the Clippers and then try and take out the Warriors with athleticism and defense in a grind- it- out series. Utah faces playoff- desperate Portland twice. The Jazz’s strength of schedule is boosted by their final two games, against the Spurs and Warriors, but it’s very probable those two will have sorted out the 1- 2 spots and not have anything left to play for at that point.

The race for the top seed could impact whether the Jazz finish as high as fourth or as low as seventh. The Clippers have clinched a playoff berth; their magic number for no worse than the fifth seed is eight. They beat the Jazz in a monster game .. The Clippers, never prosperous. They’re probably not going to finish worse than sixth, and if they actually quit running into stop signs, they can go as high as fourth.

But they have to actually, you know, do it. The Jazz are obviously the preferred first- round opponent, but it means they would see the Warriors in the second round. Honestly, the Clippers have to try and avoid Golden State in the second round at all costs. If the Spurs go No. If the Warriors go No.

Make Golden State someone else’s problem for as long as possible. Sports. Line gives the Clippers a 4. Round 1, and they’re now slight favorites to get out of the first round, up to 4. The Thunder’s magic number for a playoff spot is three. OKC is back in the thick of it after winning four straight last week, but next up is San Antonio.

They have a tiebreaker over Utah, they lead Memphis 2- 1 with one more to play and they’ve split with the Clippers. If they wind up in a three- way tie with the Jazz and Clippers, they take the highest spot based on winning their division. If they land heads up vs. They are a game up on the Clippers for the conference record tiebreaker. They face Denver - - a team that has been better, but not great recently - - twice in the final three games of the season.

If they are within range of securing home- court advantage in Round 1, they’ll be in a good spot to finish strong. Sports. Line, however, gives them just a 7.

The Thunder’s best- case scenario is a 4- 5 matchup against the Jazz. They have have more experience than Utah and the best player in the series. After that, they want the Spurs in the No. A Golden State second- round matchup would be physically and emotionally painful. However, don’t sleep on the possibility of OKC making a run. The Thunder are dangerous. The Grizzlies’ magic number for a playoff spot is just four.

They’re going to make it. Watch Cabin Boy Online Fandango. They lead the Blazers by four games in the loss column, and Portland is unlikely to make enough of a run to catch them. Memphis’ strength of schedule is just . Then again, they lost to the Kings on Monday and continue to drop inexcusable games to bad opponents. They have a tiebreaker over Utah, but not the Clippers, and OKC leads 2- 1 with one to play. They trail the Clippers by two in the loss column even after a big slide a few games ago.

Every time you think Memphis is out, it comes back around, but it’s running out of time to make a push. Sports. Line has been down on Memphis consistently; it is a team that by and large is loathed by analytical models for a lot of reasons. Sports. Line gives the Grizzlies just a 0. If they open in the seventh spot, you can drop that down even further.

The Spurs have been nearly invincible against the Grizzlies since their 2. Memphis pull the upset. San Antonio swept Memphis in the conference finals in 2. But it should be noted the Grizz are 2- 2 this season against the Spurs.