After a expected lackluster NBA All-Star break, the regular season continues to churn on with only ~thirty games left in the regular season. Now more than ever teams must string together wins to break into, maintain or secure a spot in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
And familiar faces aren’t atop the playoff picture as of right now.
Generational teams/players like Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns and Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers are on the brink of missing the NBA playoffs as of today and will need to pick it up if they want a spot in the postseason.
But each conference is in opposite environments. The Western Conference is loaded this year whereas the Eastern Conference is struggling heavily. In the West, every team that’s set to make the NBA Playoffs/ Play-In Tournament has a winning record. Safe to say you will have to be above .500 if you want to make the playoffs in the West.
On the other hand, only six out of the 15 teams have a winning record in the East. All four current play-in teams have losing records.
It’s a tale of two sides of the same coin but nevertheless, NBA competition will certainly be heightened in the last two months of the regular season.
NBA Western Conference Bubble Teams
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs truly do need a miracle to even make the Play-In Tournament this year. They sit 4.5 games out of it right now with a record of 23-29 and haven’t been playing great as of late. San Antonio is 7-13 in their last 20 games but the recent addition of point guard De’Aaron Fox might be the spark the Spurs need to get going.
But with only 30 games left, San Antonio will have to win the majority of them to make the NBA Playoffs. They are currently four games out of the play-in.
Phoenix Suns
Right above the Spurs are the Phoenix Suns, they’ve been losing lately as well. After starting the season decently hot, Phoenix has regressed and lost seven of their last ten.
The Sun’s offense has been excellent this year, they average 113.2 points a game but their defense has been atrocious. They let up 115 PPG which explains their 26-28 record as of the All-Star break.
Dallas Mavericks
Although the Mavs are eighth in the West right now, there is no denying the possibility of them missing the playoffs altogether. Dallas is down to their fifth-string center and key players like Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford are set to miss significant time down the final stretch of the regular season.
With a record of 30-26, Dallas will have to maintain while their starters get healthy in order to have a postseason chance. But can backups for backups consistently win at the highest level? Typically not…
Golden State Warriors
In a sad state of affairs, the Golden State Warriors are two losses out of missing the NBA Playoffs currently. Steph Curry and company have a record of 28-27 and are ranked 10th in the West.
But, Jimmy Butler could propel this team to a higher seed rather than plumet out of the playoffs. Let’s hope so for this is likely Steph’s last season with the Warriors.
NBA Eastern Conference Bubble Teams
Philadelphia 76ers
After picking up Superstar Paul George this past offseason, the 76ers had their sights set on making a championship run this year. But because of injuries and just flat out underperforming, Philadelphia would miss the NBA Playoffs if they started today.
But not all hope is lost, they only sit 1.5 games out of the Play-In Tournament and although they are 20-34, fully healthy this team could make a surprisingly deep playoff run. But many wins stand between them and success as of right now.
Miami Heat
Sitting at 25-28, the Miami Heat are going to have to at least maintain their winning percentage if they want to remain in the NBA Playoff picture come April. But things are looking grim and they’ve dropped their last four matchups.
After the departure of main character Jimmy Butler, All-Star Tyler Hero and dynamic center Bam Adebayo will have to play lights out to keep their postseason chances alive.
Atlanta Hawks
It seems year after year the Atlanta Hawks underachieve and this season is no different. They sit one spot above the Heat in the current NBA Eastern Conference standings at 26-29. Even with Trae Young’s brilliance this team has struggled, just a few weeks ago they went on a devastating eight game losing streak.
Young’s supporting cast will have to step up if the Hawks want to remain in the play-in or move into a secured playoff position.
Unfortunately, the Hawks just traded Young’s best side piece, De’Andre Hunter to the Cavs…
To Read More Basketball News
Follow Alexander Martin on Instagram @waddup.im.alex or reach out directly at [email protected].
Check out more Hardwood Heroics content at www.hardwoodheroics.com/author/alexmartin/.
2 Comments
If the Dallas Mavericks hadn’t traded Luka, do you think they would be on the bubble, or be a shoe-in for the playoffs? Nico’s decision to trade Luka for a chronically injured player was a big gamble for the franchise’s playoff chances.
100% The trade might pan out in the future but only time will tell.