Celtics and Warriors lead the chase in these never-too-early NBA playoff projections

The NBA season is a month old, but it’s never too early to look ahead to the playoff picture. Our inaugural NBA playoff projections of the 2017-18 season include a mix of our preseason assumptions about where teams would land in the pecking order in addition to a refreshed assessment based on about 15 or so games from each squad.

Some teams we thought would slay have been quite disappointing. Hello, Oklahoma City Thunder! Some teams we thought would be dreadful have been quite good. Top of the morning to you, Detroit Pistons. Some teams that have been bad but added talent in the offseason — like the Minnesota Timberwolves — have improved as expected. Some teams we expected to be much worse — like the L.A. Clippers and Atlanta Hawks — have indeed fallen.

Without further ado, here’s where we think the playoff brackets will end up based on the season to date and barring any further injuries.

Celtics (1) vs. Pacers (8)

Raptors (2) vs. Sixers (7)

Cavaliers (3) vs. Bucks (6)

Wizards (4) vs. Pistons (5)

Warriors (1) vs. Pelicans (8)

Rockets (2) vs. Nuggets (7)

Spurs (3) vs. Blazers (6)

Timberwolves (4) vs. Thunder (5)

The Celtics have won 15 straight and look ultra-legit after beating the Warriors on Thursday in an emotional, tough performance. There’s just some magic here, and that win over Golden State — one in which the Celtics trailed substantially in the second half — felt like an origin story. Boston already has a 3 1/2-game cushion in the East, and it’s hard to see that fall apart, even over the course of months.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are locked up in a battle with the Rockets for No. 1 in the West. Grabbing the No. 1 seed probably means more to Houston than Golden State — the Warriors aren’t at all afraid of the Rockets, despite an opening night loss to James Harden and Co. But the Warriors are just so good, as evidenced by that 22-point snap-of-the-fingers comeback in Philadelphia on Saturday. They have a gear no one else can fathom.

You might see me projecting the Pistons falling to No. 5 — Detroit is currently tied for No. 2 in the East — as a slight. That is only partially the case. Toronto is still damn good. That bench!

The Cavaliers will get Isaiah Thomas in uniform at some point, which should serve to banish Derrick Rose. (He’s been bad.) The Wizards are also better than they’ve been, and that should bear out (barring injury). The Pistons are good (Andre Drummond is finally playing at an All-Star level), and there’s clearly a top five in the East. Detroit, in the long run, is the least proven of those five teams.

The Spurs are 10-6 and will, we assume, get Kawhi Leonard back at some point. They will be fine. The Timberwolves are still losing some heartbreakers due to hero ball, but that’s a team replete with talent! The playoff drought is almost certainly ending.

I am not confident about slating the Bucks for the No. 6 seed in the East. This could go to the 76ers, Pacers, Heat, Knicks, Hornets, or Magic. But the Eric Bledsoe addition has paid dividends early on, and Jabari Parker will come back this winter.

The Pacers are actually good...for now. The one red flag is Myles Turner’s lack of progress.

The Knicks have a brutal schedule turn coming up. The bet here is that they end up closer to the Nets than the No. 8 seed.

Something’s off about the Heat.

Something’s off about the Hornets, even with Nicolas Batum back.

The Magic are in a tailspin. It’s beginning to look like the first few weeks were a mirage in the half-decade-long catastrophe that is the Magic.

The Thunder are the one West team currently outside of the playoffs that will definitely make the playoffs. Oklahoma City has the scoring margin of a 10-5 team, but it’s been so bad in the clutch that the team sits at 7-8. Sometimes that knot doesn’t unravel by the end of the season. But the Thunder have too much top-line talent to flail like that all season long. I’m fairly confident OKC will end up with a decent seed.

Portland is so weird. The Trail Blazers have had an excellent defense and mediocre offense this season. What a confounding team.

The Nuggets are so reliant on Nikola Jokic that it’s a little frightening. Paul Millsap has raised Denver’s floor and ceiling, and he’s really steady. But there’s huge real estate between the floor and ceiling, and Jokic is perhaps the most erratic of the league’s young rising superstars.

Memphis is in trouble if Mike Conley stays banged up all year long. The Grizzlies have so many risky contracts. But hey, Tyreke Evans is balling like it’s 2009-10 all over again! Memphis will likely make it in, but I believe in the ...

Pelicans! What a mess of a roster. But Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins are good enough to paper over a whole lot of trouble.

To be honest, though, had the Clippers not lost both Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic for a spell, they probably would have been my pick for the No. 8 seed. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are really, really good. But Austin Rivers just isn’t a starting playoff point guard in the West.

As I wrote last week, the Jazz are toast.

The Lakers and Suns are not real in any way. L.A. will get hit with a schedule sledgehammer soon, and Phoenix is having a really, really nice Dead Coach Bounce.

Oh my goodness, the Mavericks are so bad. However, Dallas has a few talented veterans and it’s never been natural for the Mavs to lose on purpose. So they might mess around and finish with the third- or fourth-worst record.

The Hawks and Bulls are built for this. The Kings are naturals. Did you see them pull out a 46-point loss in Atlanta? Naturals. Those three teams are poised to enter the NBA Draft lottery in pole position for Luka Doncic.

The Cavaliers really wish the Nets were a little worse. D’Angelo Russell missing time — after Brooklyn lost Jeremy Lin — could change the projection somewhat. Spencer Dinwiddie is ruining Cleveland’s hopes right now, though.