TIGHT RACE FOR EAST’S NO. 5 AND NO. 6 PLAYOFF SPOTS
SLUG: eastern-conference-playoff-race-2026
With three weeks left in the 2025-26 regular season, just three games separate six teams battling for the final two guaranteed playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.
Standings snapshot: The No. 5 Toronto Raptors sit at 39-30, while the No. 10 Charlotte Hornets are 37-34. Between them are the Atlanta Hawks (No. 6, 39-32), Philadelphia 76ers (No. 7, 39-32), Orlando Magic (No. 8, 38-32) and Miami Heat (No. 9, 38-33).
Why the fifth and sixth seeds matter
The teams finishing fifth and sixth avoid the play-in tournament altogether. Seeds 7-10 must advance through the play-in, where the No. 7 club hosts an opening game and has two chances to secure a postseason slot. The No. 8 team also gets two cracks, but the ninth- and tenth-place finishers would need back-to-back victories to qualify.
Top of the conference largely settled
Detroit, Boston, New York and Cleveland appear locked into the top four positions. The fourth-place Cavaliers (44-27) hold a four-game cushion over Toronto.
Long odds for the chasing pack
Milwaukee (No. 11) and Chicago (No. 12) have not been eliminated mathematically, though they are on the brink. Indiana, Washington and Brooklyn are already out of contention.
Scheduling edge favors Toronto
The Raptors control their fate with 13 games remaining, most among the six teams in the chase. Their opponents’ combined winning percentage is .476, the easiest slate of the group, according to Tankathon.
Hawks own tiebreaker over Sixers
Atlanta went 4-0 against Philadelphia this season, giving the Hawks the edge despite identical 39-32 records. Atlanta has won 12 of its past 13 contests but faces a tougher remaining schedule (.534) than Philadelphia (.527) over the final 11 games.
Magic and Heat remain unpredictable
Both Orlando and Miami recently posted seven-game winning streaks, only to slide with current four-game skids. Orlando’s closing schedule (.485) is slightly softer than Miami’s (.505).
Hornets surge from slow start
Charlotte was 16-28 after a Jan. 21 loss to Cleveland but has gone 21-6 since. The Hornets’ final 11 games feature three matchups against sub-.500 teams and eight against clubs above them in the standings, for an overall opponent winning percentage of .525.
All six teams remain in position to grab the East’s No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, with every result over the next three weeks likely to shift the board.
Source: Hoops Rumors
