NBA Standings 2020: Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics Entrenched As East's Top Seeds

The eight games that 22 NBA teams will each play in Orlando, Florida prior to the playoffs are technically not regular-season contests. The league is referring to them as “seeding” games, which will determine the playoff picture and each team’s spot in the postseason bracket.

A lot will be decided by those games, including four playoff berths that remain up for grabs. The No.2 through No.7 seeds in the Western Conference, for instance, are separated by only 5.5 games.

The top of the Eastern Conference, however, is unlikely to feature any changes.

The Milwaukee Bucks have the NBA’s best record and a 6.5-game lead stop the conference. The defending champion Toronto Raptors are comfortably entrenched as the No.2 seed with a three-game lead over the Boston Celtics.

Boston is 2.5 games ahead of the No.4 seed Miami Heat and 4.5 games in front of the No.5 seed Indiana Pacers. The No.6 seed Philadelphia 76ers have the same record as Indiana.

It’s possible for Miami to catch Boston, but the odds remain low with just eight games on the schedule. If the Celtics go 5-3 in the Disney “bubble,” the Heat can only pass Boston in the standings by going undefeated in the seeding games.

Any combination of two Milwaukee wins or Toronto Raptors losses will solidify the Bucks as the No.1 seed. Milwaukee was on a three-game losing streak when the season was suspended on March 11. MVP favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo missed two straight games with a knee injury, but he’s expected to be completely healthy when play resumes in late July.

Toronto entered the hiatus on a four-game winning streak. The Raptors are expected to face the Celtics early on in Orlando, potentially giving Toronto a chance to all but clinch the No.2 seed.

The Bucks and Raptors were the No.1 and No.2 seeds, respectively, when they met in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. With Kawhi Leonard out of the conference and Antetokounmpo headed for his second consecutive MVP award, Milwaukee is the odds-on favorite to reach the 2020 NBA Finals.