NBA March Schedule Outlook: East Contenders

 The All-Star Break is complete and while the NBA regular season schedule goes two weeks into April, the standings will likely take form in March. Here is a look at the top Eastern Conference playoff threats with a look at the upcoming March schedules and what one can expect in the big picture by the end of the month. 

 

Cleveland Cavaliers: At 48-10 the Cavaliers could approach a record pace for the franchise that won 66 wins in 2008-09, already matching last season’s win total. Chasing that record isn’t expected to be a priority for Cleveland, but Boston could push the Cavaliers to remain competitive in pursuit of locking up the #1 seed. Cleveland’s schedule has been favorable as there is some valid skepticism in the strength of record. The March path isn’t likely to provide much of a dent however as Cleveland only plays a few games in March vs. top contenders. Cleveland will be on the road for 10 of 17 games in the month with a 27-4 home record included in the current record. The end of February meeting with Boston will grab headlines but the Cavaliers aren’t likely to go anywhere as the team with the league’s best record. 

 

Boston Celtics: Boston won 64 games in the regular season last year and went on to win the NBA Championship. This year’s team isn’t on quite the same pace and surprisingly has 10 home losses. The Celtics have performed well against top competition this season however and should still be considered the team to beat in the East even if Cleveland runs away with the #1 seed. March will test the Celtics as Boston is more likely to slide to the #3 position than to rise to the #1 position. The Celtics have home games with the Nuggets, Lakers, and Thunder early in March before playing eight of the final nine March games on the road in a tough road trip. That trip ends with a road game in Memphis that will be a sixth consecutive road game in the span of 11 days. Boston has played well on the road this season but maintaining the torrid February pace is unlikely through the upcoming path. 

 

New York Knicks: The Knicks have faced the weakest schedule in the NBA at this point in the season and New York has the fewest top 10 caliber wins of any of the top nine teams in the league. New York just failed in both tests vs. the top East contenders with losses in Cleveland and Boston out of the All-Star Break. The Knicks will face a road-heavy start to March after closing February with a difficult game in Memphis. New York has a five-game west coast trip early in March that includes two games in Los Angeles. The back end of March path is favorable however as New York could pick up some ground on the Celtics in the next month. New York plays Cleveland twice plus the Celtics in April but those games may be more meaningful for the Knicks in the standings at that point. 

Indiana Pacers: Indiana isn’t often mentioned as a serious contender, but the Pacers were in the Eastern Conference Finals last season and March should be a good month for the Pacers to put together a strong record. The Pacers have only eight road games in March and only one is against an elite contender. The Pacers will have games in Milwaukee and Minnesota as well, but most games are well spaced out as Indiana has started the season playing more road games than home games so far through the schedule. The Pacers don’t have a lot of high-end wins in the season record and the scoring differential is barely positive for the Pacers, but this is a team that could climb closer to the top three in March, while facing some urgency with a tight race in the #4-6 spots. 

 

Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks were the in-season NBA Cup winners in December, but it has mostly been a mediocre run since defeating the Thunder in Las Vegas. Milwaukee has a very difficult schedule March schedule ahead and sliding to the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture is a real possibility. The Bucks have a very difficult run in early March as in the span of 12 days they play Cleveland, Indiana twice, the Lakers twice, plus the Thunder and Warriors. They also have a five-game road trip in late March ending in Denver before a late March home date with the Knicks. Milwaukee only has four games in March where they figure to be even a modest favorite as things could get worse for Milwaukee as this might be the #6 seed by the end of the month, with Milwaukee fortunate that only five other teams in the East currently have a winning record.

 

Detroit Pistons: Detroit is one of the great stories of the NBA going from a 14-win season to being a likely playoff team. The Pistons don’t have a great profile as a top postseason threat, but this is a younger and hungrier team than many of the veteran-led squads in the mix for playoff spots. Detroit has enjoyed a nice run of results around the All-Star break there will be a lot of winnable games in March. Detroit will play Washington twice, plus games with New Orleans, Utah, San Antonio, Brooklyn, and Portland in March. The Pistons might not hold up in games vs. Oklahoma City and Cleveland but this is a team that could rise to play well in those home opportunities in potential flat spots on the schedule for contenders. Overall, the March schedule is appealing with only eight road games and many winnable games for Detroit to maintain its top six position in the East, with a realistic chance to climb to #5 this month. The final two games of the season for Detroit are with Milwaukee and those Central games could wind up determining positions in the East standings.