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NBA Standings Watch: The Cavs are currently in a holding pattern

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The Cavaliers are currently in a holding pattern at the No. 2 seed, but the lower half of the conference remains in a state of disarray.

Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a holding pattern for roughly two weeks now. Since taking control of the Central Division and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland has stayed in the same position while the Atlanta Hawks stay way ahead of everybody and the teams below the Cavs jockey for position.

Directly below the Cavs, the Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls have been flip flopping between the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds. As it stands, Chicago has control over the No. 3 seed - at least for the moment, as all three teams have similar records over the past 10 games. That means Cavs-Bulls could be a thing in round two, although it's just as plausible that the Cavs could see Washington or Toronto in the second round.

The bottom of the conference is similarly in flux, as there are five teams within three games of one another with the No.7 and No. 8 seeds up for grabs. The Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets all still have playoff hopes but there isn't a really way of knowing who will end up with the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds. All of the teams - sans the Hornets -  in contention have been hot at one point or another in the past month, only to regress and then dip in the standings. From the Cavs perspective, watching this situation unfold is like buying five lottery tickets but knowing ahead of time that you'll some amount of money on every ticket - there is no bad outcome here.

Charlotte, the team farthest out of the race, would be path of least resistance for the Cavs. Boston would be next, although the Cavs have had some issues with the Celtics. Indiana, Miami and Brooklyn have all beaten Cleveland at some point this season, but the losses for the Cavs have been in weird moments. For instance, the Cavs' last loss to Miami was the Cavs coming off a back-to-back and the Heat having three days off. And one game is much different than seven.

As it stands today, the Cavs would play the Nets in round one. Miami is just one games back of Brooklyn, although it isn't clear how healthy Dwyane Wade will be down the stretch, and Boston is 1.5 game back. Below are the current Eastern Conference standings via ESPN: