There are just a few weeks left in the 2021-22 NBA regular season and many teams across the league are gearing up for what will be a tight standings race down the stretch run of the season leading up to the playoffs.. 

In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat have held onto the 1-seed for quite some time, but the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are just 2.5 games out of first place and the Philadelphia 76ers are just 3.5 games back from Miami. 

Not to mention, Chicago and Boston are still very much in the hunt to move up in terms of seeding and we definitely cannot forget the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets, two teams currently in the play-in tournament region of the standings that no top team is going to want to face at full-strength. 

Out in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns have all but locked up the 1-seed at this point in the year, as they are up 7.5 games on the Memphis Grizzlies for the top-seed in the NBA. Golden State just got Draymond Green back on the floor from a calf/back injury and it is hard to overlook the Jazz and Mavericks as well, two teams who could be sleeper picks to go on a deep playoff run this season. 

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So much has happened this NBA season and this may just be the tightest race in terms of league standings that we have ever seen because of all the talent spread out across the league. 

This is such a great time to be a fan of the NBA and with all the talent every single team has, we should expect nothing less than one of the best playoffs in recent memory! 

Between injuries, award races, the playoff race, and more, here are some of the key storylines that you need to be following as the NBA gets ready to begin the playoffs in about a month.