Western Conference playoff race, scenarios, tiebreakers going into final day of the season
The Western Conference playoff race is too close to call entering the final day of the regular season.
The Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder are tied for first in the West at 56-25. This marks the first time in league history that three teams have the same record through 81 games with a chance to capture the No. 1 seed in their respective conference.
There is a similar situation in the play-in race with the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors within one game of each other. Those teams will finish eighth, ninth and 10th in the West depending on the outcomes of Sunday’s games.
The Kings (45-36) will play host to the Portland Trail Blazers (21-60) at Golden 1 Center. The Lakers (46-35) will visit the New Orleans Pelicans (49-32) while the Warriors (45-36) entertain the Utah Jazz (31-50). All three games are scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m.
The Phoenix Suns (48-33) can finish no lower than seventh in the West following Friday’s dramatic 108-107 victory over the Kings. The Suns could still move up to No. 6 to secure an automatic playoff berth with a win over the Timberwolves and a loss by the Pelicans.
The teams that finish seventh and eighth will have two chances to win one play-in game to secure either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The teams that finish ninth and 10th will have to win two games in a row while facing a single-elimination scenario.
The Lakers are eighth in the West, one game ahead of the Kings and Warriors. The Lakers can secure the No. 8 spot with a win over the Pelicans. If the Lakers lose, the Kings will have an opportunity to move up to No. 8 with a win over the Blazers. If the Kings and Lakers both lose, the Warriors will have a chance to finish eighth with a win over the Jazz.
The Kings would win a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Lakers by virtue of their 4-0 record in the season series. The Kings split the season series with the Warriors 2-2, but they would win a head-to-head tiebreaker with a better division record.
The Warriors would win a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Lakers by virtue of their 3-1 record in the season series.
In the event of a three-way tie involving the Kings, Lakers and Warriors, the Kings would win the tiebreaker because they have the best winning percentage in games among the three teams. The Kings went 6-2 against the Lakers and Warriors. The Warriors went 5-3 against the Kings and Lakers. The Lakers went 1-7 against the Kings and Warriors.
