WashingtonWizards.com
On Friday, the Wizards begin their eight-game, 13-day run aimed at the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot. At 24-40, they sit 5.5 games back of the Magic (30-35) for the eight seed and six games back of the Nets for the seven seed, though they won’t have to make up that entire deficit to qualify for a playoff spot.
In late June, the NBA announced plans and protocols for the league’s return to play that we see playing out in Orlando right now. That announcement, among all the tweaks and wrinkles to normal NBA procedures, included an updated method for playoff qualification, specifically related to each conference’s eighth and final seed.