Key dates for the rest of the NBA season

We are all set for the final stretch of the NBA season after All-Star weekend came to a close on Sunday night in Salt Lake City. There are plenty of things to keep an eye on in the coming months as teams prepare for their playoff push.

Boston lead NBA after All-Star Break

After a weekend full of festivities and events, Sunday night saw Jayson Tatum and Team Giannis win the NBA-All Star game as the Boston Celtic earned MVP Honors in a record breaking performance. Tatum had 55 points on 22/31 shooting and added another 10 rebounds and six assists.

Those who participated in the All-Star Game or any of the accompanying events over the weekend will get a few days off before returning to play later this week. Those who weren’t in Utah will wrap up their week long vacation and get back into game mode for the final two months of the season.

As it stands right now, the Boston Celtics have the best record in the league at 42-17, and sit a half game over the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference. The Denver Nuggets lead the West with a record of 41-18 and have a commanding five game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies as the rest of the conference site eight or more games behind the Nugs.

Playoffs inching closer

Play won’t start back up until Thursday night, so players will have time to recover from the All-Star Game or the week long midseason break. Some of the league’s top stars like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are expected to return from injury shortly after the league returns, which will give a new dynamic to the playoff race, especially after the trade deadline shake ups that took place over the last month.

Kyrie Irving is in Dallas, and Kevin Durant is set to make his debut as a Phoenix Sun after the mass exodus from the Brooklyn Nets. D’Angelo Russell has returned to Los Angeles, and it looks like Russell Westbrook is set for a return to LA after a very short stint with the Jazz, but this time as a Clipper.

Teams at the top of the tables will have a month and a half to position themselves in a spot that they can host as many playoff games as possible while teams at the bottom of the table look to either avoid the Play-In Tournament, or qualify for the Play-In by the time the season ends on April 9th.

The chase to the Finals starts Thursday

For the third straight season the the NBA will bring back the Play-In Tournament. That means the 9th and 10th placed teams in each conference will have a chance to fight their way into the playoffs in a knock out tournament against the 7th and 8th placed teams. The opening round of the Play-In will start on April 11th and the tournament will stretch to the 14th, before the round one of the NBA Playoffs begin the next day.

The playoffs will stretch until late spring when the two best teams go head-to-head in a seven game series at the start of June. Game 1 is scheduled for June 1st, and if Game 7 is necessary it will be played on Sunday, June 18th.