Before the 2016-17 season started, most fans expected a repeat NBA Finals, featuring the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Defending champions the Cavaliers rank No. 2 in the Eastern Conference. The Warriors recently surged with an 11-game win streak without forward Kevin Durant.Do you need more late-season drama with postseason implications' Look no further than the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.Only three games separate the No. 5 and No. 8 seeds. The Indiana Pacers (37-40), Charlotte Hornets (36-41) and Detroit Pistons (35-42) sit below the playoff line as the remaining teams outside the playoff picture with hope to claim a postseason spot.In a freeze frame, the No. 3 Houston Rockets and No. 6 Oklahoma City Thunder would place two MVP candidates in an intriguing first-round matchup in the Western Conference.Should we consider the Boston Celtics a legitimate threat to the Cavaliers' Which team has the toughest route to the postseason in the East' Which club would have the upper hand in a Rockets-Thunder series'Here's a look at the current standings:Boston Celtics Lead the EastA LeBron James-led Cavaliers team has finished with the No. 1 seed in four consecutive seasons. Cleveland doesn't need to claim the top seed to play in its third straight NBA Finals, but the team's frustrations down the stretch have circulated social media:Some wonder if the Celtics surpassed the Cavaliers as the team to beat in the East. Cleveland leads the season series 2-1, and the teams will tip off on Wednesday in a must-see game that will help decide the No. 1 seed in the conference.Don't oversell the narrative on the crumbling Cavaliers. It's a veteran squad that isn't concerned about winning the regular season. Home-court advantage means more to Boston than Cleveland. The Celtics could use any potential claim as to why they're just as good as the defending champions.It's worth noting the Celtics have not clinched the Atlantic division. The Toronto Raptors, who've played just as well over the past 10 contests, only trail by three games. Cleveland's competition has certainly tightened the gap.Eastern Conference Team to Watch: Atlanta HawksOver the past nine seasons, the Atlanta Hawks have gone through three head coaches: Mike Woodson, Larry Drew and Mike Budenholzer. Yet the franchise has clinched a playoff spot every year in that span.Coming into the 2016-17 season, many wondered if the Hawks would finally challenge the Cavaliers atop the East with center Dwight Howard joining the team. Through the first half of the season, the Hawks remained competitive as a higher seed.Then, Atlanta lost seven consecutive games late March. It also came up short in the previous two games, capped with astinker in Brooklyn:Typically, surging teams in a tight playoff race garner the most headlines. Atlanta's poor play could open the door for the Pacers or Hornets, who've won three consecutive contests. Despite holding the No. 6 seed, the Hawks can't switch into cruise control.Atlanta plays the Celtics once and Cavaliers twice from Thursday to Sunday. A seismic fall could drop the Hawks out of the playoff picture for the first time since the 2007 postseason.James Harden vs. Russell Westbrook'Rockets vs. Thunder would be a dream matchup for a stat fanatic. Two players who score or assist on a large majority of their team's points in a playoff scenario would list as the best first-round pairing for the postseason.Houston won the season series 3-1, but the winning team squeaked out a victory by three points or less in three of the four contests. Expect a memorable seesaw battle between the teams. Despite alack of animosity between former teammates, Harden's beginnings in Oklahoma City add an extra layer to the matchup storyline.With the Warriors inching closer to the No. 1 seed, a Durant vs. Westbrook matchup seems unlikely. Nonetheless, fans would see a competitive duel between the NBA's triple-double kings.Westbrook (39) has nearly doubled Harden (20) in triple-doubles, and he's chasing Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson's all-time single-season record at 41. Both the Rockets and Thunder have clinched playoff spots. Once the season ends, it's strictly about wins and losses againnot eye-popping box-score stats or an MVP race.Now, the question is, will we see two stat monsters trade spectacular performances to will their respective team to the second round
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