![]() Minnesota will be ninth with a loss, eighth with a win plus a Lakers victory or seventh with a win and a Lakers defeat.Īgain, the likeliest scenario is that the Clippers, Warriors and Lakers all win. New Orleans' only path to a top-six seed involves the Clippers losing. 6 seed and avoid the Play-In if they beat the Jazz and the Warriors lose to the Blazers, no matter what happens in Pelicans-Timberwolves. 5 because they lost the tiebreaker to the Clippers, but they can earn the No. Golden State loses individual head-to-head tiebreakers with both the Lakers and Pelicans, so either could leapfrog them if only one of the two wins. The three teams would have the same record, but three-way tiebreaker scenarios would put the Lakers sixth, Pelicans seventh and Warriors eighth. If the Warriors slip up, they could fall to the No. ![]() 6 seed in such a scenario unless the Clippers lose. Golden State will avoid the Play-In with a win over Portland and will get the No. With each game happening simultaneously, the Clippers would be leaving a lot to chance if they get cute. If the Clippers lose to Phoenix and New Orleans defeats Minnesota, LA could fall into the Play-In Tournament, while the Pelicans would rise to sixth (or fifth if the Warriors also lose). While the Clippers do have the tiebreaker over the Lakers, they do not against New Orleans. The Clippers could decide to sit their key players in an attempt to avoid a first-round matchup with the Suns, but that carries significant risk. Of course, things often don't go according to plan. (Minnesota and New Orleans have split their first two games, so the winner would earn the head-to-head tiebreaker). The likeliest scenario is that the Clippers, Warriors and Lakers all win and maintain their position in the standings with the winner of Pelicans-Timberwolves earning the No. The Jazz played Saturday and have little incentive to win too. The Trail Blazers need to lose to maintain their draft lottery position. The Suns are sitting Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Cameron Payne. Here's how we currently stand:Īnd here are the matchups that involve those five teams, all with 3:30 p.m. Seeds 5-9? Those could go in a lot of different directions. 10-seeded team and play an elimination Play-In game on the road on Wednesday. We also know the Oklahoma City Thunder will be the No. The top four seeds are set: Denver is No. So let's run through everything that could happen Sunday in the West playoff picture. (ET) games will be meaningful in how this season finishes. But there isn't a single playoff or Play-In Tournament matchup set in the Western Conference, which means the 3:30 p.m. (ET) games meaningless besides NBA Draft Lottery positioning. The Eastern Conference postseason picture is set, rendering most of the 1 p.m. The 2022-23 NBA regular season ends Sunday with a contrast between the conferences. But if you believe in the efficacy of cold, hard numbers, then what Mark Cuban and GM Nico Harrison did in making sure the team took home an L isn’t only understandable, it should be, to you, best practice. And the result was, indeed, embarrassing for a team that made the Western Conference finals last season. Yes, Dallas was inelegant in how it rolled out its obvious intention Friday. For that matter, I trust the league is going to “investigate” the in-the-playoffs Heat, which nonetheless sat Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love against Washington. If the NBA is going to “investigate” what the Mavericks did Friday night - sitting a whole bunch of healthy starters, including Kyrie Irving, and pulling Luka Dončić after a quarter against the Bulls, in an obvious attempt to lose the game and improve their draft position, despite still having a puncher’s chance at the Western Conference’s Play-In Tournament - then I trust the league is similarly going to “investigate” why the eliminated-from-the-playoffs Wizards sat Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porziņģis, Monte Morris and Deni Avdija on Friday against Miami. Thunder/Pelicans winner at Timberwolves/Lakers loser.Bulls/Raptors winner at Hawks/Heat loser.Here's what the Play-In Tournament will look like: Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament and matchups were set before the day began. Despite lots of drama, the final standings remained the same, with the exception of Minnesota jumping New Orleans to earn the No. The final day of the NBA’s regular season resolved several Western Conference playoff seedings that were up for grabs.
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