The 8th seed in the East this season is hotly contested by three main team looking to battle it out until the very end. Charlotte, Indiana and Milwaukee are all looking to secure the 8th spot to qualify for the playoffs. Although Indiana currently holds the much sought after position, their recent struggles including a 6 game losing streak may lead to their downfall. Milwaukee and Charlotte however are both on winning streaks, Milwaukee’s 3 game winning streak being more respectable that Charlotte’s 1 game winning streak. My opinion is that Milwaukee will take the 8th spot. The Bucks have been playing extraordinary basketball as of late and hold a decent record of 5-5 in their last 10 games. Milwaukee is only .5 games out of the eighth spot and should be able to play well enough to secure the playoff position.

Then you have to consider the dark horses who are not expected to clinch the spot but still lurking 5 games out. By dark horses I mean New Jersey and Detroit. Detroit’s recent struggles and three game losing streak have put them a considerable distance of 5 games out of a playoff spot. New Jersey’s recent success and 4 game winning streak have put them also 5.5 games out of the 8th spot. It is still feasible for these two teams to make a playoff push due to the 18-20 remaining games in the season.

The playoff race in the East is contested mainly by three teams but can be taken by either of our dark horses if New Jersey or Detroit catches fire. It will be interesting to see how this all fares out.