Welcome to the final game of the regular season. There are still 13 playoff-seed teams left here, and the only first-round series we know for sure is the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers vs. the No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks.
Most notably, the final guaranteed playoff berths in both conferences remain unconfirmed. If they win, the New Orleans Pelicans will become the sixth seed in the Western Conference and will face one of three teams. If we lose, there will be chaos. In the East, the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds could participate under any scenario with four different teams. The Booby Prize is an entry into the double-elimination bracket of the play-in tournament.
(Teams ranked 7th and 8th will play one game in the play-ins, which begin on Tuesday. The winner will be the 7th seed, and the loser will play the winner of the game between 9th and 10th.) Earn the 8th seed. team for. Okay, okay, because six of the eight spots still need to be settled on him. )
The top seed in the West is also undetermined. This marks the first time in NBA history that three teams will be tied for the best record in the conference, each earning the right to the No. 1 seed on the final day of the regular season. The Oklahoma City Thunder won a three-way tiebreaker and a head-to-head tiebreaker against the Denver Nuggets. The Minnesota Timberwolves have head-to-head tiebreakers against OKC and Denver.
The Eastern Conference’s 4-5 matchup will be the last major domino to fall on Sunday, as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in both conferences will wait for their opponents to advance from the play-in tournament. The Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat could each fit into one of these slots. please do not worry. I’ve sorted it out.
Now that we’ve skipped over the basics, let’s move on to the finer details (and there are a lot of them)…
western conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (56-25)
Qualify for playoffs
2. Minnesota Timberwolves (56-25)
Qualify for playoffs
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best possible finish:1st seed (obtained 3rd seed or higher)
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own tiebreaker opponent:Nuggets, Thunder
3. Denver Nuggets (56-25)
Qualify for playoffs
4. Los Angeles Clippers (51-30)
Earns No. 4 seed and first round playoff series vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks
5. Dallas Mavericks (50-31)
Earns No. 5 seed and first round playoff series vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers
6. New Orleans Pelicans (49-32)
7. Phoenix Suns (48-33)
8. Los Angeles Lakers (46-35)
9. Sacramento Kings (45-36)
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best possible finish:8th seed
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own tiebreaker opponent: Warriors, Lakers
10. Golden State Warriors (45-36)
Sunday’s important games (all Eastern time)
Nuggets vs. Grizzlies (3:30 p.m.)
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DEN wins; losses to OKC and MIN confirm No. 1 seed
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DEN locks up 2nd seed with victory and loss to either MIN or OKC
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DEN loses or MIN secures 3rd seed, OKC wins
Suns at Timberwolves (3:30 p.m.)
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If MIN loses to OKC or DEN and wins, they will secure the 1st seed.
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MIN takes second seed with victory, OKC and DEN win
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MIN secures the 3rd seed even if they lose, OKC and DEN win
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PHX secures the 6th seed with 1 win and 1 loss
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PHX secures 7th seed with loss or NOP win
Lakers vs. Pelicans (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
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NOP will secure the 6th seed if they win or lose against PHX
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NOP secures the 7th seed with 1 loss and PHX’s win
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LAL wins or SAC and GSW lose to secure 8th seed
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If LAL loses and either SAC or GSW wins, they will get the 9th seed.
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LAL loses but secures 10th seed, SAC and GSW win
Mavericks at Thunder (3:30 p.m.)
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OKC earns the No. 1 seed with 1) 1 win and a DEN win, 2) 1 win and a MIN loss, or 3) 1 loss and a MIN and a DEN loss.
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OKC would earn the 2nd seed with 1) one loss and a MIN win, or 2) a DEN loss and a MIN win.
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OKC earns 3rd seed with 1 loss and DEN win
Jazz at Warriors (3:30 p.m.)
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GSW wins, LAL and SAC lose, securing 8th seed
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GSW earns the 9th seed with a win and a loss to either LAL or SAC
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If GSW loses or LAL and SAC win, the 10th seed will be confirmed.
Blazers vs. Kings (3:30 p.m.)
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SAC earns 8th seed with 1 win and 1 loss in LAL
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SAC earns 9th seed with LAL’s win and 1 loss and GSW’s loss
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SAC earns 10th seed with 1 loss and GSW’s win
eastern conference
1. Boston Celtics (63-18)
Wins 1st round playoff series with 1st seed vs. 8th seed (determined by play-in tournament)
2. Milwaukee Bucks (49-32)
Qualify for playoffs
3. New York Knicks (49-32)
Qualify for playoffs
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (48-33)
Qualify for playoffs
5. Orlando Magic (46-35)
6. Indiana Pacers (46-35)
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best possible finish:5th seed (achieved 8th seed or higher)
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own tiebreaker opponent:76ers, Heat
7. Philadelphia 76ers (46-35)
8. Miami Heat (45-36)
9. Chicago Bulls (39-42)
9th seed acquisition and play-in tournament match vs. 10th place Atlanta Hawks
10. Atlanta Hawks (36-45)
10th seed acquisition and play-in tournament match vs. 9th seed Chicago Bulls
important match on sunday (always eastern)
Hornets vs. Cavaliers (1 p.m.)
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CLE wins, MIL and NYK lose, securing 2nd seed
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CLE wins and either MIL or NYK loses to secure the 3rd seed.
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CLE will secure the 4th seed with a loss or MIL win
Hawks vs. Pacers (1 p.m.)
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IND secures the 5th seed with ORL 1 win and 1 loss
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IND takes 6th seed with 1 win and ORL win
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If IND loses and either PHI or MIA wins, they will get the 7th seed.
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IND loses and secures the 8th seed, MIL, PHI, MIA win
Raptors at Heat (1 p.m.)
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MIA wins, ORL, IND, PHI lose to secure 5th seed
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MIA earns the 6th seed with a win, ORL loss, and either IND or PHI loss
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MIA will earn the 7th seed with a win and 1) an ORL win, or 2) an ORL loss and IND and PHI wins.
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MIA loses or ORL secures 8th seed, PHI wins
Bulls vs. Knicks (1 p.m., ESPN)
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NYK confirms second seed with 1 win and 1 loss
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NYK earns the 3rd seed with 1) 1 win and a MIL win, or 2) 1 loss and a MIL and CLE loss, or a MIL win.
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NYK loses and secures the 4th seed, CLE and ORL win
Bucks at Magic (1 p.m.)
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If MIL wins or NYK and CLE lose, the 2nd seed will be confirmed.
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MIL will secure the 3rd seed with a loss and either NYK or CLE loses.
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MIL loses and secures the 4th seed, NYK and CLE win
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ORL earns the 5th seed with 1) a win and an IND win or a PHI loss, or 2) a MIA, IND, or PHI loss.
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ORL earns 6th seed with 1 win, IND 1 loss, and PHI win
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ORL secures the 7th seed with 1 loss, MIA win, and IND loss.
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ORL loses, 1) MIA and IND win, or 2) MIA wins and PHI loses and gets the 8th seed.
Nets at 76ers (1 p.m.)
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PHI wins 5th seed with 1 win and 1 loss
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PHI earns 6th seed with 1 win, IND win, ORL loss
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PHI earns the 7th seed with either 1) a win and ORL, IND, and MIA win, or 2) a loss and ORL, IND, and MIA lose.
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PHI loses but secures the 8th seed, MIA and ORL win
