As the 2021-22 NBA season winds down to the final two weeks, four teams have formed a logjam atop the Eastern Conference standings. Heading into April, we'll see an intriguing race for the play-in tournament spots in the Western Conference.
As of March 27, only the Miami Heat have clinched a division title. Yet they're not cruising toward a top spot in the playoff bracket—quite the opposite. With tensions boiling over, the Heat may have a bumpy road to the postseason.
In the West, a club that made a first-round playoff exit last year looks like a strong contender without its leading scorer and most dynamic playmaker. Is it time for a squad in the Southwest Division to take a big leap while eyeing home-court advantage in the opening round of the postseason?
Let's take a look at the current playoff standings, seedings and brackets heading into Sunday's games.
Play-In Tournament
Game 1: No. 8 Brooklyn Nets (39-35) at No. 7 Cleveland Cavaliers (41-33)
Game 2: No. 10 Atlanta Hawks (37-37) at No. 9 Charlotte Hornets (38-36)
Game 3: Winner of Game 2 at Loser of Game 1
1st Round
Winner of Play-In Tournament Game 3 at No. 1 Philadelphia 76ers (46-27)
Winner of Play-In Tournament Game 1 at No. 2 Miami Heat (47-28)
No. 6 Toronto Raptors (42-32) at No. 3 Boston Celtics (46-28)
No. 5 Chicago Bulls (43-31) at No. 4 Milwaukee Bucks (46-28)
Western Conference
Play-In Tournament
Game 1: No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers (36-39) at No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves (43-32)
Game 2: No. 10 New Orleans Pelicans (31-43) at No. 9 Los Angeles Lakers (31-42)
Game 3: Winner of Game 2 at Loser of Game 1
1st
Winner of Play-In Tournament Game 3 at No. 1 Phoenix Suns (60-14)
Winner of Play-In Tournament Game 1 at No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies (52-23)
No. 6 Denver Nuggets (44-31) at No. 3 Golden State Warriors (48-26)
No. 5 Dallas Mavericks (45-29) at No. 4 Utah Jazz (45-29)
With a 120-108 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Heat clinched the Southeast Division title on March 18, but since then, they've lost four consecutive games, which includes three defeats on their home floor.
During a matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, tempers flared
After the game, Spoelstra downplayed the incidents and set his sights on bigger aspirations.
"We got to play more consistently, and that's really all the discussions were," Spoelstra said during the postgame press conference. "I know how it could look on the outside, but as I mentioned before, that is more our language than playing without passion or without toughness or without multiple efforts."
Are the Heat crumbling under the pressure?
On Saturday, Butler had a rough outing against the Nets, shooting 2-of-9 from the floor. Bam Adebayo led Miami in scoring with just 14 points. Going into that game, the Heat gave up the fifth-fewest points per contest (105.2), but they've allowed 110-plus points in each of their last four losses.
Aside from the frustrations on the court, Spoelstra stepped away from the club before Saturday's outing to be with one of his two sons who underwent a medical procedure, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
If the Heat continue to struggle, they could easily fall to fourth place in the East with the Celtics and Bucks only a half-game behind them in the standings. That scenario could set up a tough second-round matchup with the Sixers.
Miami can salvage its four-game homestand with a win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
All-Star guard Ja Morant hasn't played since March 18 because of soreness in his right knee. On Thursday, head coach Taylor Jenkins said the team will reevaluate him in two weeks.
Between November and December, Morant missed several games because of a sprained left knee, and the Grizzlies went 10-2 during that stretch.
Once again, they're playing well without their lead scorer.
The Grizzlies have won their last four games with Morant on the sideline, averaging 128.5 points per game through that streak. Seventh-year guard Tyus Jones looks comfortable in the lead guard role with a couple of double-doubles in two of the last three contests.
This season, Desmond Bane has established himself as a viable and efficient shooter, knocking down 46.0 percent of his attempts and averaging 18.2 points per game. He's recorded 20-plus points in each of the previous four outings.
At home, the Grizzlies beat the Bucks 127-102 Saturday. They'll finish their four-game homestand against the Warriors on Monday. Memphis has a 3.5-game lead over Golden State for the No. 2 seed in the West.
LeBron James has missed the playoffs three times in his 19-year career—once with the Lakers in the 2018-19 campaign. Los Angeles finished 10th in the West that year, but the league didn't have a play-in tournament back then.
Now, the Lakers sit in the ninth slot, but they're only 1.5 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs with the Pelicans sandwiched in between. James has to put another team on his back as eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis recovers from a foot sprain that's sidelined him since February 25.
With a sizable gap in the playoff standings between the Lakers and the eighth-seeded Clippers, three teams are competing for two spots in the play-in tournament out West. Though James-led clubs get the benefit of the doubt, don't count out the Spurs, who've won three straight contests.
Keep in mind, the Lakers have a tough nine-game stretch to finish the season. They'll face the Pelicans twice and clubs slotted between the Nos. 1 and 6 seeds in six other games.
Two weeks ago, Davis resumed on-court activities, but he's still working his way back and may miss the remainder of the season. If the big man can suit up, he'd give the Lakers a much-needed push in the final two weeks of the campaign.
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