Column: NBA Eastern Conference playoffs begin to develop

As the NBA season comes into the final stretch, it’s time to take a look at the playoff race. … As the NBA season comes into the final stretch, it’s time to take a look at the playoff race. For now, let’s give the Eastern Conference its post-season rundown.

With only two clear contenders for the Eastern Conference’s first playoff seed, the races for the rest of the seeds will prove to be the most interesting happenings in the final month of the season.

To no one’s surprise in the East, the Chicago Bulls lead the conference and the Central Division with a league-best record of 35-9. Led by their MVP candidate Derrick Rose, the Bulls are a lock to enter the postseason as the first or second seed.

The Bulls are a very deep team and also play great defense under the tutelage of head coach Tom Thibodeau, the longtime Celtics assistant and a wizard at defensive strategy. Led by Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer in the paint, the Bulls also rebound well and are set up for another deep playoff run.

In second, the Miami Heat trail the Bulls by two and a half games. This is by no means insurmountable for a team with arguably the two best players in basketball, a team whose improved defense, depth and rebounding will also serve them well in a deep playoff run.

Led by LeBron James, the likely MVP winner, and Dwyane Wade, the Heat should wrap up their division title soon and begin preparing for the playoffs. At this point, the Heat are most people’s favorites to come out of the East and vie for the NBA Championship.

After these two stellar teams, the conference takes a bit of a drop down to the Orlando Magic, second in the Southeast Division and third in the conference. The Magic are four games behind the Heat, and it remains to be seen what will happen at Thursday’s trade deadline.

At 28-15, the Magic have the pieces to either put together a deal for someone to help Dwight Howard or just mail in the season and ship him off to New Jersey or Los Angeles. But whatever happens, the Magic have never fared well in the playoffs, with little talent to draw attention away from Howard.

In fourth, the Philadelphia 76ers lead the Atlantic Division and are two and a half games behind the Magic. After a very hot start to the season, the Sixers have cooled off considerably and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Expect them to continue playing near-.500 basketball the rest of the way.

At fifth place in the conference, the Indiana Pacers are tied with the Sixers in terms of the standings. But because the Sixers lead their division, they receive the higher seed.

Meanwhile, the Pacers are 24-16 and will be a tough opponent for anyone in the playoffs. They were four fourth quarters away from upsetting the Bulls last year and will be even better this year with another year of experience under their belts.

The Atlanta Hawks currently own the sixth seed but are just a game behind the Pacers and Sixers. However, they will not threaten many teams in the postseason without their best frontcourt player, forward-center Al Horford, who is out for the rest of the year because of a shoulder injury.

The Boston Celtics occupy the seventh seed and look to rise through the standings under their new leader Rajon Rondo. With only two and a half games separating it from the fourth seed, Boston will need every part of its championship experience and renowned defensive grit to better its postseason picture.

In eighth place and the final playoff spot sit the Milwaukee Bucks. Tuesday the Bucks acquired Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson. In danger of losing even their low seed, the Bucks felt compelled to make a move to help their postseason push.

As great of a scorer as Ellis is, Milwaukee gave up too much in Bogut and Jackson. Jackson is just as prolific a scorer as Ellis, and a better defender at that. For his position, he rebounds much better than does the undersized Ellis, who is also a huge liability on defense.

The most worrisome part of the trade is that the Bucks no longer have an intimidating presence in the paint. Udoh can block shots like Bogut can, but he is nowhere near as strong a rebounder. Ultimately, this trade will not leave Milwaukee any better or worse off than before.

Trailing the Bucks closely — and my candidates to sweep in and make the postseason — are the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. At first glance between the Bucks, Knicks and Cavs, one would probably expect the Knicks to pull out the playoff spot. They have players with playoff experience and two of the best players in the league in Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.

But I believe at the end of the season, fans will see the Cavaliers in the playoffs. They have a combination of young, exciting players and distinguished role players with veteran savvy, as well as NBA Finals experience.

Kyrie Irving leads the Cavs at the point. And Tristan Thompson has played well this season, posting a number of double-doubles in the limited minutes he has. Veterans Anderson Varejao and Anthony Parker have experience from the 2007 run to the finals with LeBron James, and Antawn Jamison has played in many a playoff game from his time with the Washington Wizards.

Next week, look out for the playoff outlook of the Western Conference, a group whose situation is similar to that of the East’s playoff picture, making it all the more exciting.