How stretch schedule could affect OKC Thunder final seeding

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Khris Middleton of the Bucks is defended by Kyle Lowry #7 of the Raptors. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

The top end of the East is highly competitive and tightly grouped. The Raptors just ran off a 15 game win streak and for their efforts made up ONE game on the Bucks. Likewise, the Celtics have won 12 of 14 and also failed to gain any ground on the Bucks and still trail the Raptors by 2.5 games.

None of the teams in this group want to finish in the four-five seeds as it will undoubtedly feature the most difficult first-round series in the East. Plus, the winner will get rewarded with a second-round meeting facing the Bucks.

This means the Raptors, Celtics, Heat, 76ers, and Pacers are all chasing that two seed with the conciliation prize being the three seed.

Raptors:

Games remaining: 25
Home: 11
Road: 14
Teams over .500: 13 plus one vs Magic (will face Bucks three times and Nuggets twice)
Top 10 offenses: 10
Top 10 defenses: 7
Back to back sets: Four
Games versus EC seeds 1-8: Seven

Celtics:

Games remaining: 26
Home: 13
Road: 13
Teams over .500: 12 plus two games each versus the seeded Nets and Magic
Top 10 offenses: Eight
Top 10 defenses: 11
Back to back sets: Five
Games versus EC seeds 1-8: 11

Heat:

Games remaining: 26
Home: 15
Road: 11
Teams over .500: 10 plus once each versus seeded Magic and Nets
Top 10 offenses: Seven
Top 10 defenses: 12
Back to back sets: Three
Games versus EC seeds 1-8: Nine

76ers:

Games remaining: 27
Home: 13
Road: 12
Teams over .500: Seven plus one game versus the Magic
Top 10 offenses: Six
Top 10 defenses: Five
Back to back sets: Four
Games versus EC seeds 1-8: Four

Pacers:

Games remaining: 25
Home: 12
Road: 13
Teams over .500: 10 plus two games versus seeded Nets and one vs. Magic
Top 10 offenses: Nine
Top 10 defenses: 10
Back to back sets: Three
Games versus EC seeds 1-8: Nine

All five teams play at least three back-to-back sets with the Celtics at the high end with five sets. The Raptors (19-8), Pacers (14-14) and Celtics (16-12) have the most road games.

Again, Tankathon’s placement is debatable but for different reasons. The seventh (Nets) and eighth (Magic) seeds do not own plus .500 records. However, those two clubs aren’t tanking so matches against them will be uber-competitive as they cling to the playoff ladder.

Of the five teams in this group here’s where Tankathon ranks them:

Raptors: 10th
Celtics: 13th
Heat: 20th
76ers: 29th
Pacers: 18th

And while there’s no debating the 76ers and Heat having the easiest schedules the fact they struggle on the road is a factor especially with sizeable padding between the Raptors/Celtics and the Heat/76ers.

Revisiting the fact Toronto and Boston failed to gain any ground on the Bucks despite a cumulative three losses in the last 15 games how likely are the 76ers and Heat to make up between four and six games on the Raptors and Celtics?

It seems unlikely the Heat or 76ers could land the two seed and even the three seed might be out of their reach. But, undoubtedly this will be a great battle between five teams during the stretch run.

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