NBA standings ordered by strength of schedule: Celtics dominate, Warriors struggle
By Cal Durrett
The NBA season is officially halfway through, with each team having played around 41 games. With the league at its midway point and the standings in each conference crowded, there will be increasing attention on each team's remaining schedule, with many fans focusing on how easy or difficult they are.
Of course, some teams have benefited from easier schedules thus far, while others have had to endure tougher ones, though that tends to get flipped over the second half of the season. With that in mind, let's take a look at the NBA standings based on strength of schedule.
NBA standings based on strength of schedule: Eastern Conference
1) Orlando Magic
2) Boston Celtics
3) Detroit Pistons
4) Toronto Raptors
5) Charlotte Hornets
6) Chicago Bulls
7) Washington Wizards
8) Atlanta Hawks
9) Cleveland Cavaliers
10) New York Knicks
11) Indiana Pacers
12) Brooklyn Nets
13) Philadelphia 76ers
14) Milwaukee Bucks
15) Miami Heat
The Magic have had a surprisingly good start to the season, though as the season has worn on, they have begun to struggle. That likely has a lot to do with them having the toughest schedule in the East. Fortunately, for them, they have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA, which should help them climb from eighth back into the top-4 with them just 4 games back.
While the Magic have had the toughest schedule in the East, the Heat, Bucks, and Sixers have had the easiest, though the Heat has slightly underperformed relative to their schedule. They are currently sixth in the East, albeit just two games out of forth.
On the other hand, the Bucks and Sixers have the second and third best in their conference, but the Bucks will have the fourth toughest remaining schedule in the East. Now that they have had a chance to work out the kinks that come with adding Damian Lillard, they should be better prepared for a tougher schedule.
The Hornets and Wizards have had a slightly tougher than average strength of schedule thus far but will have the two toughest closing schedules in the East. Considering they have the second and fourth worst records in the NBA, that should help their lottery odds. Up next is the West.