USA TODAY International Edition
Raptors have easiest, Thunder most difficult stretch left
The stretch run of the NBA regular season has arrived, and with it the games that will define the landscape of the postseason.
Over the final 20-plus games for each team, squads will be fighting for position, with some hoping to earn a spot that will allow them to host a playoff series or two and others just hoping to qualify for the playoffs.
Some teams lucked out in having the toughest part of their schedule early in the season, when they were as close to full health as possible.
Others have the misfortune of facing a buzz saw to close the season, one that could knock them out of contention altogether.
Using Tankathon’s handy Remaining Schedule Strength tool, which ranks teams based on the win percentages of the opponents that await them, we break down the five teams with the easiest, and the five with the most difficult, remaining schedules.
Easiest remaining schedules
5. Bucks (remaining schedule strength: 0.472): The current No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks sit at 43-14, the best record in the league. Nevertheless, Milwaukee can’t get too comfortable with 25 games remaining, as it has only a one-game lead on the East No. 2 seed Raptors, a team that’s first on this list. Milwaukee also has to face the Celtics twice and the Rockets once, tough matchups that should be quite fun playoff previews and will show
us the kind of form the Bucks will be on heading into the postseason.
4. Suns (0.460): Phoenix has the league’s worst record at 11-48, so its schedule strength is only interesting for lottery positioning purposes. Even then, with the revised lottery odds, the teams with the three worst records will have an equal chance at the top pick (14 percent), so the Suns only have to worry about not falling out of the bottom three.
3. Magic (0.460): The bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff standings is wide open. Thus, Orlando, at 27-32, is still in the thick of the race. Winners of their last five games and with the thirdeasiest schedule remaining, it’s not too far-fetched to think the Magic can make
a run at their first postseason appearance since the 2011-12 season.
2. Jazz (0.452): Although the first half of the season was a mild disappointment, the Jazz (32-25) can take solace in having the second-easiest schedule. They are 12-4 over their last 16 games, so there’s a chance they can make a push for home-court advantage in the first round. That would be huge in improving their chances of winning a playoff series for the third year running in the loaded West.
1. Raptors (0.450): Mostly battling it out against lesser foes down the stretch, Toronto and Milwaukee have a huge opportunity to finish with the top record in the East.
Most difficult remaining schedules
5. Timberwolves (0.538): Despite an ugly start to the season, both on the court and off it, the Timberwolves (2730) are four games out of a playoff spot in the West. Yet with the fifth-toughest remaining schedule, it’s a bit hard to see them making a real push, especially with how battered they’ve been by the injury bug.
4. Nuggets (0.540): The Nuggets sit second in the West, trailing the Warriors by two games. Denver’s remaining schedule is going to make things difficult to pass the reigning NBA champions, though the Nuggets face the Warriors two more times.
3. Nets (0.541): Brooklyn sits at 3029 and in the East’s six seed. Because of how poorly the teams at the seven seed and below are doing, it looks like the Nets are going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15.
2. Hornets (0.541): The Hornets are presently the No. 7 seed in the East despite their 27-30 record. But with three teams within one game of them and due to them having the second-toughest schedule remaining, it wouldn’t be all too shocking to see Charlotte struggle to make the playoffs. It’s going to be a grind for the Hornets as multiple games against the Raptors and Warriors await.
1. Thunder (0.572): One of the six best teams this season according to net rating, they sit at 37-20. The current West three seed, Oklahoma City has a three-game lead on the fourth-seeded Trail Blazers while sitting two games behind the Nuggets and four behind the Warriors. Catching both won’t be easy.