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NBA standings watch: Cavs haven't quite wrapped up second seed in Eastern Conference

The Cavs have the inside track, but the race for the second seed isn't over

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavs held on for a win on Sunday afternoon over the Philadelphia 76ers, and it might end up having playoff implications. The Cavs are now 2 1/2 games up on the Chicago Bulls for the second seed and homecourt advantage of a possible second round matchup with said Bulls. With a game against the Bulls a week from today, a loss might have given the Bulls an opening to catch the Wine and Gold.

The Cavs have just seven games remaining now, but as Ruiter points out, six will be against teams who have a lot to play for. They'll be at home for a lot of these games, where they've won their last 16 games. In short, Cleveland has a great chance to get the second seed, but they haven't wrapped it up just yet. The Bulls are relatively healthy now. If the season ended today the Cavs would play the Miami Heat in the first round. If Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside are healthy, that might be less fun than we'd want. Things at the bottom of the East seem to be fluid.

We will see.

Standings via ESPN,

EASTERN W L PCT GB HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK L10
1 z - Atlanta 55 18 .753 - 31-5 24-13 11-3 34-10 102.4 97.3 +5.1 Lost 1 5-5
2 x - Cleveland 48 27 .640 8 27-9 21-18 8-5 30-15 103.3 98.5 +4.8 Won 1 8-2
3 x - Chicago 45 29 .608 10 ½ 24-14 21-15 7-6 28-16 101.1 98.4 +2.7 Won 3 6-4
4 y - Toronto 43 30 .589 12 25-13 18-17 11-2 29-16 104.2 101.2 +2.9 Won 1 5-5
5 Washington 41 33 .554 14 ½ 26-12 15-21 9-6 26-19 98.3 97.8 +0.4 Lost 1 5-5
6 Milwaukee 36 37 .493 19 21-15 15-22 6-8 25-18 97.8 97.6 +0.2 Lost 1 3-7
7 Miami 33 39 .458 21 ½ 17-18 16-21 4-10 21-22 94.5 96.7 -2.2 Lost 1 5-5
8 Boston 32 40 .444 22 ½ 18-18 14-22 10-4 20-23 100.6 101.4 -0.8 Won 1 6-4
Brooklyn 32 40 .444 22 ½ 14-20 18-20 8-6 19-24 97.5 100.6 -3.1 Won 3 7-3
Indiana 31 41 .431 23 ½ 18-18 13-23 7-8 23-22 96.8 97.3 -0.4 Lost 1 3-7
Charlotte 31 41 .431 23 ½ 17-19 14-22 8-6 23-20 95.0 97.1 -2.1 Won 1 3-7