Only 15 Games out of 66 NBA Played, But the Playoffs are Already (Mostly) Set

1. Chicago Bulls
2. Philadelphia 76ers
3. Orlando Magic
4. Miami Heat
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Cleveland Cavaliers
8. New York Knicks

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. Denver Nuggets
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Utah Jazz
6. Portland Trail Blazers
7. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Memphis Grizzlies

It's pretty wild to see some of those teams even making the playoffs, especially seeing the miraculous turnaround by the Cavaliers, 76ers, and Clippers. More analysis and teams that have some shot of making the playoffs after the break.

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In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are currently viewed as having outside chances of making the playoffs due to the Celtics' total inability to defeat teams with winning records and the Bucks' inability to win games on the road. In the Western Conference, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves have chances to make the playoffs still, but all 3 Texas teams are awful on the road and the Timberwolves are seemingly just getting started with their season, even though every game counts more than ever now.

This year more than ever, 8 playoff teams per conference is just way too many. In both conferences, the teams seeded 6th, 7th, and 8th have absolutely no business even getting a shot in the playoffs at this point. There's a lot of talk (generally on ESPN) that the Miami Heat are the favorite team to come out of the East, but that's a load of BS. If the playoffs were to end today, they would be defeated in the first round by the Indiana Pacers who are an excellent road team.

Analysts even bothering to predict which teams will make the NBA Finals is ridiculous at this point anyway. Just 2 years ago, the Boston Celtics finished the second half of the season (post-All-Star Game) with a .500 record, yet they made the NBA Finals.

....And yet I'm going to pick which teams will play in the NBA Finals, knowing how stupid the pick will be and how likely it is to change given this ridiculously condensed schedule already rife with injuries.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Denver Nuggets

I told you it was going to sound ridiculous. Neither of these teams should be playing as well as they are, yet here they are defying logic and reason. Since trading Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets have been a much better team, even without the people playing in China, like Kenyon Martin and Wilson Chandler. Clearly, team chemistry is up in Denver without such loud personalities like Anthony and Martin with a team now being led by Andre Miller and Aaron Afflalo..

In Philadelphia, Doug Collins' tenure as head coach is no longer being questioned as his 76ers are now the hottest team in the NBA. There are some questioning the success of the 76ers, but it must be kept in mind that they have only played 2 games against teams in their division, the absolute worst in the NBA. The 76ers have a very good chance of only losing 1 game against division opponents, which will greatly inflate the team's record and get morons like ESPN talking.