Your weekly look at the NBA and what you need to know about the standings and schedule for the week of Dec. 19.
INSIDE THE STANDINGS
Click here for the full NBA standings.
A quick tiers check to get us started. Yes, all of this is too early, but this is just to let you know where teams stand in case you haven't been paying attention.
East No. 1
In the hunt: Cavaliers, Raptors
Toronto has a shot at taking this in the next two weeks, with Kevin Love's injury and the Cavaliers facing the Warriors on Sunday. The problem is going to be getting enough distance. What the Raptors have to do is stay within range or take the top spot before LeBron James takes his annual sabbatical in January, then create separation, and hold it. That's not going to be easy, but the Raptors legitimately need to make this a priority. They're trying to win every game, sure, and there's no reason to risk injury, but if they want to have any hope of beating Cleveland in a potential Eastern Conference finals, that formula starts with having home-court advantage.
The Cavaliers aren't invulnerable, as far as seedings go. They just don't care as much about it. The Raptors, however, have every reason to put the pedal to the floor. No, getting home-court won't mean they beat the Cavaliers in the playoffs, but not getting it may significantly reduce their chances.
East home-court first round
*Locks: Cavaliers, Raptors
In the hunt: Celtics, Hornets, Bucks
Within range: Knicks, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons, Hawks, Wizards
There's not enough separation yet to rule any of these teams out. I'd put the Bulls' and Hawks' chances above the rest in that bracket, but I'm not wholly convinced any of these teams are going to beat out the three in the hunt. Boston is a near-lock at this point, having gotten healthy and ridden out the storm the way they have. The defense still makes me a little queasy, but there's just too much talent there to have serious doubts. The Hornets would be my favorite for the 4 seed. They're clearly above Milwaukee and the rest of the East. But the Hornets have a penchant for dropping games they need to win. Charlotte and Boston have both had real trouble with teams over. 500.
The bigger question than home-court, realistically, is who can stay out of the Cavaliers' bracket. This is where things will get complicated if the Raptors hang around. You'd much rather be a 6-seed in the East with the Cavs in the No. 1 spot. Yes, you have to go on the road against a better team, but none of those teams after Cleveland scare you. If you want to make a run to the Eastern Conference finals outside of the 2-seed (and I consider the Raptors a near-lock for the No. 2), you have to go through the 2-7 or 3-6 matchup.
To put it another way: I'd rather be in that range of teams with the Knicks, Bulls, etc. than in the 4-5 Hornets-Bucks spot.
If Cleveland doesn't get the 1-seed, then it gets all crazy.
*As much of a lock as you can be in early December, based on what we know, anyway
East 7th-8th seeds
In the hunt: Knicks, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons, Hawks, Wizards, Magic
Welcome to the party, Wizards. I'm keeping the Magic here because they're just 2.5 games back of the 8-seed right now, but my confidence, let's just say, is not high. On the contrary, the Wizards have something cooking. If they can put together a strong run through the end of January, we'll forget all about that horrific start to the season.
It's hard to feel good about any of these teams right now. The Bulls I still think have the talent and formula to get back into that third tier with the Celtics and Hornets, but they have to actually get themselves back under control. The offense is starting to bite them. I'm growing concerned about the Knicks based on chemistry comments and how fragile they are, injury-wise. Atlanta is the team you would think you could trust. I still kind of expect the Hawks to right themselves at some point and go on a run.
Bear in mind that Chicago and New York are tied in the loss column with Charlotte so these are all perceived, subjective gaps. Everyone is still right there, because it's still December.
I'm ready to drop Miami, and of course Brooklyn and the Sixers have been done in terms of playoffs since July.
West No. 1 seed
In the hunt: Warriors, Spurs
Some changes here. I'm bumping the Clippers out. This seems crazy in December, but think of it this way. The Clippers are four back in the loss column from the Warriors and Golden State has a 1-0 advantage in tiebreaker already. The Warriors have four losses, total, so far. They'd have to double their loss total while the Clippers go undefeated just for L.A. to catch them. They can chip away at the advantage over the coming months. The Warriors aren't invincible like they seemed last year in the regular season. But the Clippers are too inconsistent to believe in it.
Realistically, the Warriors are already a near-lock, which won't surprise you. The Spurs' schedule gets way more difficult the longer the season goes, and they haven't looked as rock solid despite their record, either. Houston is interesting, having won 10 in a row and only three back in the loss column, but they'd have to maintain their current level of play for literally months to catch them. Houston is great, but games like the Lakers loss on opening night wind up hurting when you're trying to catch the Warriors.
West home-court first round
Locks: Warriors, Spurs
Near-Locks: Rockets, Clippers
San Antonio is going to win enough games. It's just what they do. I like Houston's ceiling more than the Spurs' at this point, but you just do not doubt San Antonio. It never works out well, despite their being a 6-seed two years ago. Houston looks great now, but hasn't been hit with any real adversity, outside of a legitimately challenging schedule. We'll see how they do with focus, intensity and consistency once this winning streak cools, but I think they have the formula to sustain.
The Clippers would have to really screw this up not to have home-court, but really screwing things up is a very Clippers approach. Plus, they were touch-and-go with losing the 4-seed to the Grizzlies for a while before the injuries buried Memphis.
Don't count out Utah or Memphis here. They are hungry and they hang around. The Jazz, especially, have the resume and metrics to really make a run. Both Memphis and Utah have already had bad injury luck, which makes you wonder if they're past the worst of it, or if it's a start to a theme.
I'm ready to mark out OKC from this group. The Thunder will start the playoffs on the road. (I reserve the right to revise this when Westbrook makes me look stupid.)
West 7th-8th seeds
In the hunt: Thunder, Blazers, Nuggets, Kings, Lakers
This turned into a big pile of "ugh." The Thunder are a lock. They're making the playoffs barring an injury to Westbrook. They're going to win ugly most of the time, but they're also going to win most of the time. Portland is in a lot of trouble. The offense has cooled, the defense is a complete mess and they're starting to point fingers. It's bad. It's really bad.
That said, Portland is 5-13 against teams over .500, and that's the most games any playoff team has played against above-.500 squads. Meanwhile, the Blazers are 8-3 against teams below .500. As the schedule balances out, they can probably right themselves.
I don't have any faith in Denver, the Kings or the Lakers to really make the kind of run they'll need, but the door is definitely open. I'm ready to close the door on the Pelicans, Suns, Wolves and Mavericks. Eleven games below .500 is just too deep with only 12 days left in the calendar year.
What to watch this week
Game of the Week
Schedule | Warriors weekly preview
| Date | Away | Home | Time | TV/Stream |
| Sunday, Dec. 25 |  |  | 2:30 p.m. ET | ABC/Watch ESPN |
THE REMATCH
It's time. The biggest regular-season game of the year has arrived, and one of the two that many people feel are the only ones that matter. The Warriors walk into Quicken Loans for the first time since they lost Game 6, with Draymond Green, back in June, and see LeBron James' smiling face for the first time since he walked off with the title on their home floor.
Not to dampen expectations or excitement, but it's important to remember a few things.
The Warriors absolutely annihilated the Cavaliers in the regular season last year, and we all know how that worked out. So this won't prove anything. Both teams are going to go vanilla in their approach and will save some strategies. It's not guaranteed to be a great game, and honestly, given the way both teams look at the regular season, with Golden State determined to humiliate whoever they can and Cleveland just doing what they need to in order to get where they want to go, it's unlikely to be a classic.
There's a chance, though, that it turns out different. The Cavaliers are worse statistically but better in terms of chemistry, and they know certain things that can bug Golden State, or at least, the players from last year. And the Warriors will be up for this game, as they are always up for every regular season game. The Warriors will likely be considerable but not heavy favorites in this one. Even if we all know the odds are high of a Warriors blowout, NBA fans will be watching, because come on.
It's Cavs-Warriors.
Elsewhere...
Will the Rockets keep streaking?
Houston has won 10 in a row and has one easy one and two tough ones this week. They face the Spurs Tuesday in Houston (8 p.m. ET, NBATV) for their third matchup this year tied 1-1. A win not only keeps the streak alive, but guarantees at least a split of the regular-season series, which helps with tiebreakers down the line. They then take on the Suns in Phoenix on the back-to-back (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass) before facing the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday (8 p.m. ET, League Pass). Houston has been red hot but had to come back from down nine with under a minute to go versus the Wolves. Can the Rockets make it 13 in a row?
The Greek Freak vs. LeBron Round 2 and 3
Giannis Antetokounmpo got the better of LeBron James in their first matchup, and the Greek Freak put on a show. The Cavs will likely be without Kevin Love for the back-to-back home-and-home, and James has been resting on those back to backs. Will the Cavs get revenge and show the Bucks where they stand in the pecking order? Or will the surprising Bucks keep up their surge? More importantly, is there finally a player so athletically dominant as to give LeBron James real problems?
Chicago tries for the emergency brake
The Bulls lost both to the Bucks last week and have been an off-and-on disaster the last few weeks (with a big win over the Spurs in the middle). This week they face a trifecta of Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls. Detroit (Monday, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass), Washington (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass), and the Hornets (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, League Pass) present key challenges against teams they need to get wins against for further down the line in playoff conversations. The Bulls were a feelgood story for the first month of the season. Can they return to those good vibes, or will the meltdown continue?
