The NBA is in for one long, wild week

Plenty to be decided before the playoffs

With just over a week left in the NBA regular season, there’s still a ton to be decided before the playoff field is set.

In the East, four spots remain unclaimed. In the West, two are up for grabs. And while some seedings look wrapped up, none are officially clinched.

Want drama? It’s not hard to find.

“To be in competition like this, it’s a privilege,” Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Monday was a day for most of the NBA to catch its breath. The league always tries to avoid scheduling games on the day of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game and would have done so this year if a Portland-Minnesota game didn’t have to be postponed because of floor conditions earlier this season.

Things pick up in earnest again Tuesday, so to get ready for the final nine days of the season, here’s a primer on playoff chases. and Charlotte, teams very desperate right now to get in. … Both the Raptors and Wizards have wrapped up home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference quarter-finals. The Rockets’ magic number for clinching the No. 3 spot is 1, and the only mystery is if MVP candidate James Harden will get some rest. … The Jazz are in the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and now have to hold off the Clippers to host Game 1 of the post-season for the first time since 2001, when John Stockton and Karl Malone were still starters in Utah. … The Clippers won the season series against Utah 3-1, big if tiebreakers are needed. Milwaukee’s schedule is brutal with four road games in the final five, including ones at Oklahoma City, Indiana and Boston — teams all playing for something. … Atlanta took the season series 3-0, but the Hawks have a three-game four-day stretch this week that goes Boston, at Cleveland, Cleveland.