NBA Standings 2018: Celtics, Raptors Atop East, Bucks, Heat Gaining On Cavaliers

It’s been a long time since the Eastern Conference has been this wide open. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (29-19) no longer seem to be a guarantee to reach the NBA Finals, giving other teams hopes of making a deep playoff run.

The Boston Celtics (36-15) not only have the best record in the East, but they are challenging the Houston Rockets (35-13) for the second-best record in the 2018 NBA standings. The Toronto Raptors (33-15) are tied with Boston in the loss column, while teams like the Miami Heat (29-21) and Milwaukee Bucks (27-22) are quickly gaining on Cleveland for a top-three seed.

The Bucks, Washington Wizards (27-22) and Indiana Pacers (28-23) are all eight games behind Boston.

Cleveland has won two games in a row after suffering 10 losses in 13 games. Two of those defeats came at the hands of Boston and Toronto, and those games weren’t even close. The Celtics beat the Cavs by 14 points at TD Garden, and the Raptors blew out the Cavs by 34 points north of the border.

Boston defeated the Denver Nuggets Monday night, snapping a skid of five losses in six games. Toronto is 5-5 in their last 10 games.

Milwaukee has been the East’s hottest team, surging after firing head coach Jason Kidd. Under Joe Prunty, the Bucks have gone 4-0, winning by an average of nearly 14 points per game.

Miami is probably the biggest surprise in the conference. They’ve won as many games as the Cavs, and they’ve done it without an All-Star on the roster. Boston, Toronto and Cleveland all have two All-Stars apiece. Milwaukee All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the league in PER.

Goran Dragic leads the Heat with 17.8 points and 4.8 assists per game. Hassan Whiteside is averaging a double-double with 14.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per contest, ranking eighth in the NBA in field-goal percentage and fifth in blocks per game.

The Heat visit the Cavaliers Wednesday night. A victory for Miami could put them ahead of Cleveland in the standings.

That will depend upon what the Cavs do Tuesday night when they host the Detroit Pistons. Detroit just made the biggest trade of the NBA season, sending Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris and other pieces to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Blake Griffin.

Cleveland remains the favorite in the East. They have just two victories over winning teams in January.