The NBA playoff races that matter

With about 10 games left in the regular season, here's what's truly at stake.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

Most NBA playoff seeds are still up in the air. But because of certain vagaries of the current standings, some of these races don’t actually matter. The No. 2 seed in the East, for example: why is that important? It comes with a likely-to-be viciously tough first-round opponent, just as the No. 3 or 4 seed (and the No. 1 s…