The most important things still to be decided during this NBA season

We've covered this plenty of times: the Warriors are on pace to challenge the Bulls' record 72-10 season. San Antonio also has a shot at 70 wins. It's incredible that this is even in play, but it is. That's what makes every Warriors and Spurs game a must-watch.

Well, that and Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard ...

The East standings remain rather tight between Nos. 3 and 8. Looking at the metrics, Boston seems superior with the No. 6 scoring margin in the NBA and No. 7 net rating. They do it with defense (No. 3 in the league) and get enough offense out of Isaiah Thomas and the guard attack. In the playoffs, we'll find out whether you can win a long series with Thomas as your best scorer. (Color me skeptical.) But the Celtics should have a seeding advantage.

Other candidates: Miami (if Chris Bosh returns), Indiana and ... Charlotte, who has won five straight. The Hornets currently sit at No. 7, but the margin is so tight that a couple more wins put them right in the mix.

Why does the No. 3 seed matter? Home court in the first round against a roughly equal (in terms of wins and losses) opponent, and you avoid the Cavaliers until the conference finals. Toronto is damn good, yes, but the Raptors don't have a strong record of playoff success. Cleveland went to the Finals despite massive injuries a year ago. You'd rather face Toronto 10 out of 10 times.

Someone has to face those potentially historic Warriors and Spurs in the first round. Who will it be? Portland, Houston, Utah and Sacramento are all vying for the final two playoff spots in the West, with Denver and New Orleans likely staying removed from the race. (The Kings might also legitimately be out of the race at this point.)

The Rockets remain hugely disappointing, but have James Harden and Dwight Howard. They should be able to grab a spot. The Blazers just beat the Warriors, so anything is possible there. The Jazz lost the tiebreaker to Portland, but have the most fearsome frontline in this mix, plus a couple of damn good wings in Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood. On paper, the Rockets and Jazz should get the spots. But Portland's guards are just smoking everyone right now. This should be a fun race to watch.

The Grizzlies and Mavericks are Nos. 5 and 6 in the West. They are both above .500. Memphis is way above .500 at 32-23. Yet both have negative scoring margins and look beatable almost every night. Both teams' scoring differentials are actually below those of the Blazers and Jazz. Scoring margin is usually a good indication of team quality, but the Grizzlies have such a huge gap that they feel safe, even without Marc Gasol. The Mavericks are in a slightly more precarious situation, just two games ahead of No. 9 Utah.

Remember, Anthony Davis has $23 million on the line this season. If he makes any of the All-NBA teams, he's eligible for a Rose Rule extension. If he doesn't, the Rose Rule provision in his contract is voided. That provision is worth about $5 million per year in each of the next five seasons. That 59-20 game on Sunday will help, but Davis is going to be listed as a forward and there's stiff competition. LeBron and Durant are getting spots, as will Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard. A.D. has to beat out Paul Millsap, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, LaMarcus Aldridge and Dirk Nowitzki for one of the final two spots.

The Clippers have an intriguing postseason ahead of them, and it really starts when Griffin comes back in another month. How the team re-integrates Griffin heading into the playoffs should give us a clue as to whether L.A. will be able to challenge Golden State in a projected second-round pairing. The Clippers have played Golden State close this season and remain the last team to beat the Warriors in the playoffs ...

Kevin Love hung 29 on Serge Ibaka on Sunday. How Cleveland continues to feed Love while still allowing LeBron and Kyrie Irving to dominate the ball will be interesting to watch. It could turn the Cavs from best-in-the-East status to legit challenger to the Warriors and Spurs.

There is actually almost no drama at the very bottom of the standings. Philadelphia is highly likely to claim the worst record, and the Lakers are solidly in the next spot. Brooklyn has no incentive to lose, so it won't go out of its way to be worse than Phoenix for No. 28. It's not until we get to the zone around the fifth-, sixth- and seventh-worst teams where the standings are bunched. There we find Denver, Milwaukee, New York, New Orleans and a bunch of teams still chasing playoff spots.

Will any of these teams tank? None of them are completely out of the playoff race, unlike most years. Denver has a shot and is trying to build a winning culture. Milwaukee is already embarrassed enough about the fall-off. The Knicks fired their dang coach. We have institutional tanking in Philadelphia, and clearly the Suns aren't worried about wins at this point. But in terms of jockeying for lower spots in the standings on a game-by-game basis? We might not see any of that, and if we do it won't be until the final week or two of the season. Parity works!

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