The NBA standings and schedule picks up on Monday with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder leading the eastern and western conferences and OKC will be in action against the Atlanta Hawks at home and that matchup will tip off at 8 pm, while the night will start with the Phoenix Suns visiting the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors at 7:30 pm.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are visiting the Chicago Bulls at 8 pm and that game will be on NBA TV and features Kevin Love, while the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks are playing at the same time. The Thunder play the Hawks at 8 pm, while the Sacramento Kings visit the Utah Jazz and that game will be starting up at 9 pm.
The east has the Pacers in first place and while Miami is just two and a half games back, they have not been able to overtake Indiana and the Heat know how important home court advantage is in the playoffs. Some would argue that last season Miami would not have won their seven game series against the Pacers without those final games in south Florida and it paid off against the San Antonio Spurs as well. Miami is 19-3 at home this season and Indiana is 21-1 and that will be very tough to overcome if it holds up into the postseason. The Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls finish the top five, while Washington, Brooklyn and Charlotte are in the playoffs right now.
The west has the Thunder leading the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers by a game and a half and the Clippers and Rockets are the other teams in the top four spots. The Houston Rockets are fifth, while the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks are next.
