One Month Out: Handicapping Playoff Seed Races

There are just south of four weeks remaining in the regular season. At this moment, we essentially know where four playoff teams will be seeded: the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers will retain the top seeds in their respective conferences, while the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks will occupy the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the East. That’s all pretty much set in stone.

Everything else, though, is up for grabs. Not to everybody, obviously, but to a few different teams in specific packets of the standings. We’re going to dig into those seeding battles below, breaking things up into five distinct races.