NBA trending topics: Scramble for playoffs in the Eastern Conference and Patrick Ewing finally gets his shot

What’s trending in the NBA: Scramble for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and Patrick Ewing finally gets his shot are among this week’s topics.

Down to Wednesday

Once Cleveland maintained its stranglehold on the top spot by thumping Boston on Wednesday, the Eastern Conference playoff intrigue turned to the other side of the postseason seeding ledger.

Atlanta, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana and Miami are tightly bunched heading into crunch time. All play on the league’s 14-game slate to end the regular season Wednesday.

The Hawks finish at Indiana on Wednesday, when coaches’ decisions on resting players could affect the playoffs. Chicago appears to be in great shape with a home finale against Brooklyn, but what if Boston is locked in at No. 2 and shuts down its best players against Milwaukee? If the Wizards are out of the running for No. 3, do they play a full squad at Miami?

The Bulls have recovered from a 3-9 March stretch and are set up best to qualify and even rise in postseason seeding. Their final six games are against sub-.500 teams, including Brooklyn twice, and Dwyane Wade is making an unexpected comeback from a right elbow fracture.

In Wade’s absence, Bulls guard Jimmy Butler has played elite basketball, putting up four consecutive double-doubles for points and assists in late March, recording a triple-double Thursday and averaging 27.2 points and 7.9 rebounds in the last 11 games with 53.4% shooting before Saturday.

Bang for the Bucks

After going an Eastern Conference-best 14-4 in March, Milwaukee lost its first three games of April to fall into a precarious playoff position.

A Bucks playoff destination seemed far-fetched on Feb. 10, when they lost for the 12^th time in 14 games, fell to 22-30 overall, slid to 11^th place in the East and lost Jabari Parker for the season to a torn ACL. Khris Middleton’s return from injury and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s rising stardom were enough to flip Milwaukee’s season.

It is the best place that the franchise has been since the turn of the century, particularly with a young nucleus that will return Parker. Just three seasons ago, the Bucks went 15-67. Antetokounmpo and Coach Jason Kidd arrived that off-season.

32 years coming

Whether it be big man bias, racial bias or befuddling hiring choices in the NBA, Patrick Ewing never became a head coach during 15 years on NBA coaching staffs.

So he will take his ball and go home. Georgetown gave Ewing, 54, the opportunity he was seeking in a full-circle move to where he played for John Thompson Jr. — and will replace fired coach John Thompson III.

The Hoyas are not restoring the 1980s. They are bringing in a coach with a modern basketball view after spending 32 years playing and coaching in the NBA. Recruiting will be Ewing’s newest challenge.

Late-season shift

It is far past the NBA trade deadline but there has been one more personnel swap.

ESPN replaced Sage Steele with Michelle Beadle as full-time host of “NBA Countdown” heading into the final week of the regular season. Beadle already had moved into weeknight NBA anchor duties while Steele has been a lead host for “SportsCenter on the Road” and put on major events like the Masters.

“Like a great point guard, she makes everyone around her better and we’re looking forward to this next chapter in Michelle’s career as she leads us forward on NBA Countdown,” ESPN vice president for original content Kevin Wildes said in a news release that did not mention Steele.

Steele, ESPN’s NBA show host since 2013, caused a stir when she used social media to criticize travel ban protesters at Los Angeles International Airport in January and Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans’ national anthem protest in November.

Numbing numbers

• Boston All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas’ 29-point scoring average will be the highest in NBA history for a player shorter than 6 feet. Michael Adams previously was the highest when he averaged 26.5 points for Denver in 1990-91.
• The Spurs are 21-9 in games that they trailed at halftime this season. Only the 1991-92 Chicago Bulls fared better at 16-6.
• Minnesota has lost 21 games in which it led by double digits at halftime this season.
• Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson missed Wednesday’s game because of a sprained right thumb, ending his NBA-high consecutive games played streak at 447. The new active league high belongs to the Lakers’ Corey Brewer (273 after Friday’s game).
• The Warriors have not lost since Klay Thompson autographed a fan’s toaster on March 13.

Looking ahead

ATLANTA at INDIANA: Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT. TV: ESPN.

This likely will be the only remaining televised game with playoff seeding implications for both teams. Atlanta arguably has the NBA’s toughest closing schedules, if Cleveland brings a full squad today after also playing the Hawks on Friday. This season finale also falls on a back-to-back for Atlanta, which plays Charlotte on Tuesday night. The Pacers have been fading but remain strong at home, where their 28-12 mark is among the NBA’s best. After more than two years away, Lance Stephenson resumed playing for Indiana last Sunday and already injected life into a team that went 8-18 from Feb. 8 to April 2.