The last few weeks before the NBA playoffs begin are always hectic. This year, The Western Conference could come down to the very last game to determine the seeds for the playoffs and who will compete in the play-in tournament.
In both the East and West, the No.1 and No. 2 seeds are set. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ record-breaking season has landed them the No. 1 seed above the defending champion, the Boston Celtics. In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder won the No. 1 seed, more than 10 wins above the No. 2, the Houston Rockets.
The East is relatively set already. The No. 3 seed will go to either the New York Knicks or the Indiana Pacers. These two teams are also competing for the No. 4 seed, but the Milwaukee Bucks could win it as well. The Detroit Pistons are in the running for the No. 5 and No. 6 seed, and the Orlando Magic, the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat will fill out 7-10.
In the Western Conference, however, the No. 3 through the No. 8 seeds are a complete tossup. As of April 9, 2025, the standings show the LA Lakers at third, the Los Angeles Clippers at fourth, the Denver Nuggets at fifth, the Golden State Warriors at sixth, the Memphis Grizzlies at seventh, and the Minnesota Timberwolves at eighth. The Lakers have 48 wins, and the Timberwolves have 46. With three games remaining in the regular season, any of these six teams could be the No. 3 seed.
Tomorrow night, the Memphis Grizzlies play the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Grizzlies should pray that they even make the playoffs this year. After a hot streak in the winter, the Grizzlies are 9-14 since the All-Star break. After firing head coach Taylor Jenkins last week and rookie of the year candidate Jaylen Wells’s injury, the Grizzlies’ season is over.
Hot take: I think the Los Angeles Lakers are making the NBA Finals. With the addition of JJ Redick, the Lakers have battled through Luka Doncic’s knee injury and LeBron James’s groin injury. These players have both since recovered, and if Luka wasn’t ejected in their last game against the Thunder, they probably would have won. Luka Doncic made the NBA Finals last season with the Dallas Mavericks, and the Lakers’ supporting cast and coaching is much better, in my opinion. The Lakers can beat the Thunder and every other team in the Western Conference.
In the East, I see a few possibilities. Obviously, the Celtics could come out on top. They are the No.2 seed, and they proved themselves last year with their championship squad. They haven’t made many roster changes, but Jayson Tatum is playing better than he did last year. The Celtics still have one of the greatest benches of all time, with players like Payton Pritchard and Al Horford, and their starting five is one of the best in the league as well.
Another possibility is the Cavaliers. They have made few roster changes since the 2023-24 season, but they added new head coach Kenny Atkinson, who emphasizes a fast-paced offense with a heavy load on 3-point shooting, gritty defense and great rotations. The Cavs began the season with a 15-game winning streak, finally falling to the Celtics. The Cavaliers are 2-2 with the Celtics this season, and Boston has shown they can perform well in the playoffs. Last year, the Cavaliers fell to the Celtics in five games, but they have a much more well-rounded cast of characters this season.
The Knicks could pull off the conference finals victory, but I don’t see any other team winning the East. The Milwaukee Bucks looked great in November and December when they won the NBA Cup, but they have settled just above mediocre.
Unlike the NCAA March Madness Tournament, the NBA includes a seven-game series. In college basketball, higher seeds can play badly for one game and be eliminated in an upset, but in the pros, each team needs to win four games, which puts the odds in favor of better teams. I can only picture a few teams making it all the way this year.
