NBA Teams Already Clinched Playoff Spots???

The last couple of days when I've checked Yahoo Sports NBA Standings, It's said that the top 3 teams in both the East and West have clinched a playoff spot already. Is there something going on that I don't know about or is there just a glitch!?!?

NBA Teams Already Clinched Playoff Spots???nba odds

Mathematically speaking.....It's not yet possible to clinch a playoff spot coz its too early to tell........ why?

As of Dec. 14, 2007

The top 3 teams in the NBA are:

Celtics 18-2

Spurs 17-5

Suns 17-6

Bottom 3 teams in the NBA are:

Grizzlies 6-15

knicks 6-15

Timberwolves 3-17

at the end of the season (82 games) lets say they could possibly loose all their remaining games, for example:

Celtics 18-64

Spurs 17-65

Suns 17-65

with a record like this, they will surely be out of the playoffs, right?

how about if the bottom teams wins all there remaining games?

Grizzlies 67-15

Knicks 67-15

Timberwolves 65-17

They will surely clinched the playoffs, right?

Therefore , as of today, mathematically speaking, no team have clinched a playoff spot due to some possibilities that might happen just like my sample.......

Got it? Go0d!!!

NBA Teams Already Clinched Playoff Spots???nba statistics ,nba teams

Impossible. No team can clinch this early.

Boston Celtics for example are 18-2. They can technically finish 18-64 and be the worst team in the league. No way have they clinched.

You probably saw the designation for division leader (which is surprisingly not indicated as division leader, so I can see where the confusion stems).
With 60 or so games left no one is mathematically guaranteed a playoff spot. They may think differently in Boston but lets see how the Cltics first trip to the west coast pans out. On the left coast they will struggle against the likes of Portland, Seattle and Golden State.

What you were probably looking at (it may be badly annotated) is the listing of the 3 divisional leaders. If you look carefully you may see that one or two of those teams is listed ahead of a team or teams with better records within their conference, East or West. Division leaders, regardless of records make the palyoffs at the end of the season as do the net 5 best teams in the conference based on won loss record.
i bet u don't know anything about NBA if u said so.

Not even half way through of the regular season, how on earth they can clinch?????
Way too early.
its wrong

there is no way they could clinch it yet
not yet
Division leaders automatically clinch a playoff spot and they are marked as such in the Yahoo Sports website.

This is automatically updated as the season goes on.
just pay the referees