Basketball
The rankings in East and West: The Bucks are always first and best, the Mavericks are in serious danger
Here’s how both the Eastern and Western Conferences of the NBA have evolved according to the latest results. The Bucks are consistently first in the league, followed by Tatum’s Celtics. The Kings nearly sealed the two-round lead in the playoffs, battling the Grizzlies for second place.
The Bucks don’t want to give up the regular-season lead in both the East and the NBA as a whole, and as long as they win, as they comfortably did in Salt Lake City, they will hold their destiny in their own hands. The Celtics, of course, linger after regaining their effectiveness.
Instead, the Sixers lost ground when they were defeated by Stephen Curry’s Warriors in San Francisco. The champions were among the day’s favorites, as were the Grizzlies, Davis’ Lakers and the Kings, while the Mavericks in the west slipped to 11th place after losing to the Hornets in Dallas and are now at risk of being eliminated.
East
1. Milwaukee Bucks 53-20*
2. Boston Celtics 51-23*
3. Philly 76ers 49-24*
4th Cleveland Cavaliers 47-28
5.New York Knicks 42-33
6.Miami Heat 40-34
———-
7. Brooklyn Nets 39-34
8.Atlanta Hawks 36-37
9.Toronto Raptors 36-38
10.Chicago Bulls 35-38
———-
11. Indiana Pacers 33-41
12.Wizards 33-41
13. Orlando Magic 31-43
14. Charlotte Hornets 24-51
15. Detroit Pistons 16-58
west
1. Denver Nuggets 49-24*
2. Memphis Grizzlies 46-27*
3. Kings of Sacramento 44-29
4.L.A. Clippers 39-35
5. Phoenix Suns 38-35
6.Golden State Warriors 39-36
———-
7.Minnesota Timberwolves 37-37
8. LA Lakers 37-37
9. New Orleans Pelicans 36-37
10. Oklahoma City Thunder 36-38
———-
11 Dallas Mavericks 36-38
12. Utah Jazz 35-38
13. Portland Trail Blazers 32-41
14. San Antonio Spurs 19-55
15 Houston Rockets 18-56
* You have qualified for the playoffs
** The top six teams in each region advance directly to the playoffs.
** *Teams ranked 7th-10th in each region will enter the play-in tournament, claiming the last two spots in East and West respectively.
Source: sport 24
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.