AS we stated in our edition last week, the 66-game regular season is just about finished.

In fact, Thursday will mark the final day of the 2011-2012 season with a total of 13 games. As at press time, the teams in the Eastern Conference that had clinched play-off berths are the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers, the Boston Celtics, the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks.

In the West, the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the defending champions Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets were the teams that had booked a place in the quest for the 2011-2012 NBA championship.

Here are the latest updates of the league.

Relaxed Knicks

Eastern Conference

After an up and down season, the Knicks improved their recent form to seven wins from 10 and with a 34-30 record secured a place in the post-season and set up a possible first-round clash with the Heat.

The Heat, as at press time held a 45-18 overall record and with home-court advantage will be looking to wrap up the series with a win at the Madison Square Garden.

The Indiana Pacers have been the silent predators all season, cruising to a 41-23 record as at Sunday for third place in the East. Jamaican international Roy Hibbert continues to have an impressive season and will be looking to make an impression in the post-season after claiming his first All-Star appearance in February. The Pacers are likely to fact the Magic in the first round and with that franchise in turmoil they would be confident of their ability to progress.

Despite losing their last games of the week, the Celtics and the Hawks have been fairly impressive of late, winning seven of their last 10. Though they have respective records of 37-27 and 38-26, the Celtics hold the advantage because the clinch the Atlantic Division.

Suns in a spot of bother

Western Conference

The Phoenix Suns were in a fine position to clinch the final play-off spot in the West but the most recent round of games involving themselves and competitors Utah Jazz has seen a chance of tide.

With a 117-107 overtime win over the Magic the Jazz improved their record to 34-30 after the Suns lost out 118-107 to the Denver Nuggets. After losing six consecutive games, the Houston Rockets will also consider themselves back in the running as they recorded a 99-96 win over the Golden State Warriors to draw level with the Suns’ 33-31 record.

With a six-game winning streak, the San Antonio Spurs look favourites to wrap up the Western Conference with a 46-16 record. The Thunder do hold a 46-17 record as at press time but the momentum of the Spurs looks to be enough to get them over the hill.

The Grizzlies with a 39-25 are also on a good run of form winning their last four. These two teams are only ones in the conference that have lost only twice in their last 10 encounters.

The Clippers have a 7-3 record of their last 10 for a 39-24 record overall and are the likely opponents for the Grizzlies. This is undoubtedly the most anticipated match-up in the first round of the play-offs for both conferences as they will both consider themselves favourites to make it to the finals at least.