NBA: 5 x-factors heading into the final 20 games of the regular season

Exploring five x-factors that will be key for their respective teams heading into the final 20 games of the NBA’s regular season

There are roughly 20 regular-season games remaining in the 2019-20 campaign, before the start of the NBA Playoffs. With the race to the playoffs – in some cases, mostly seedings – heating up, for some teams, there is very much at stake over the next few weeks.

While it’s pretty set in stone, barring injury, that the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks will finish the regular season as the top seeds in their respective conferences, the 8th spot in the West is still up for grabs and seeding (2-8) in both conferences is still not set.

How far will the Philadelphia 76ers fall without Ben Simmons in the lineup? Can the Toronto Raptors hold off the Boston Celtics for the second seed in the East? How will the middle of the West fall, and will the LA Clippers and Lakers manage to avoid each other in a potential matchup until the conference finals?

As we head into the final stretch run before the 2020 NBA Playoffs, we explore five x-factors that will have a big hand in how the playoffs set up.