What Teams Will Be In The Nba Playoffs?

We’re nearing the end of the NBA regular season, and the playoff picture is starting to take shape. Here’s a look at what teams are currently in the running for a spot in the postseason.

Eastern Conference

There are several teams that have a shot at making the NBA playoffs in the Eastern Conference this year. The Boston Celtics are currently in the lead, but the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers are not far behind. The Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat are also in the mix.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play at the Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the long-time owner of the team, but on April 16, 2014, a group led by billionaire hedge fund managers Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to purchase a majority interest in the team from Kohl, a sale which was approved by the NBA Board of Governors on May 15. The new owners became the first since desegregation to own an NBA franchise; Lasry and Edens also made history as being the first NBA owners from outside North America since George W. Gillett Jr., who owned the Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C..

The Bucks have won one league title (1971), two conference titles (1971 and 1974), and 13 division titles (1971–74, 1976–80, 1981–86, 1987–92, 1993–96, 2001, 2019). They have featured such notable players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sidney Moncrief, Oscar Robertson, Bob Lanier, Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, Junior Bridgeman, Michael Redd, Terry Cummings, Vin Baker, Jon McGlocklin; head coaches Larry Costello Alex Hannum Hubie Brown Don Nelson Del Harris George Karl; and general managers Wayne Embry Larry Harris John Hammond. between 1985 and 2015 under current general manager Jon Horst), winning at least 60 games in six of them (1979–80 to 1984–85).

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member club of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee to become the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian-based team in the NBA.

The Raptors play their home games at Scotiabank Arena, which they share with two other professional basketball teams, the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team’s president is Masai Ujiri.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division and play their home games at the Wells Fargo Center. Founded in 1946 and originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA, and one of only eight (out of 23) teams to survives the league’s first decade.

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and became a member of the NBA in 1976 as a result of the ABA–NBA merger. They play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after Indiana’s history with the Indianapolis 500’s pace cars and with the harness racing industry.

Western Conference

The Western Conference is full of talented teams this season. The Golden State Warriors are the obvious favorite to win the conference, but the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Oklahoma City Thunder will all be tough outs in the playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets are also playoff contenders.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are currently in first place in the Western Conference with a record of 58-24. They have clinched the top seed in the conference and will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Warriors are led by Stephen Curry, who is averaging 26.4 points per game. Other key players for the Warriors include Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Warriors are looking to win their third consecutive NBA championship.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA), but changed its name to Rockets before the first season. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974. After the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets.

The team has had some periods of success, qualifying for the ABA Playoffs for all seasons from 1967 to the 1976 ABA playoffs where it lost in the Finals. The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger and qualified for the NBA playoffs nine times since then. However, it has not made an appearance in a round beyond the first since 1995.

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are currently in 4th place in the Western Conference with a record of 44-20. They are only 1.5 games back of the Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the conference, and they have a 7.5 game lead over the 5th place Oklahoma City Thunder. The Rockets are currently on pace to win 49 games, which would be their best season since 2014-15, when they won 56 games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Clippers play their home games at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, an arena shared with fellow NBA team the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The franchise was founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, one of three expansion teams to join the NBA that year. The Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California in 1978 and became known as the San Diego Clippers. In 1984, The Clippers partnered with then-owner Donald Sterling to move to Los Angeles. Sterling owned the team from 1981 until 2014 when he was banned for life by the NBA after recordings of him making racist comments were made public. Steve Ballmer purchased the team in 2018.

The franchise has notable former players such as Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul, Randy Smith, Bob McAdoo, World B. Free, and Danny Manning.