By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season coming to an end with 15 NBA Sundays contests, plenty to play for between the fifth and ninth seeds of the Western Conference. The rest of the Playoffs and Play-In pack has been already decided.
Eastern Conference
The Milwaukee Bucks earned the top seed in the East and the second-seeded Boston Celtics will receive a team advancing from the Play-Ins in the first round of the Playoffs. Confirmed pairings are the Philadelphia 76ers versus the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers versus the New York Knicks.
Playoffs
Milwaukee Bucks (1) – Play-In team (8)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4) – New York Knicks (5)
Boston Celtics (2) – Play-In Team (7)
Philadelphia 76ers (3) – Brooklyn Nets (6)
Play-Ins
For the seventh seed: Miami Heat – Atlanta Hawks (11/4)
Toronto Raptors – Chicago Bulls (12/4)
For the eighth seed: Loser of Heat–Hawks – Winner of Raptors–Bulls (14/4)
Western Conference
The Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns landed first through fourth, and the Oklahoma City Thunder tenth. The rest of the Playoffs and Play-In seeds will be decided on the last day of regular-season action.
Playoffs
Denver Nuggets (1) – Play-In team (8)
Phoenix Suns (4) – Fifth seed
Memphis Grizzlies (2) – Play-In Team (7)
Sacramento Kings (3) – Sixth seed
Play-Ins
For the seventh seed: 7th seed – 8th (11/4)
9th seed – Oklahoma City Thunder (12/4)
For the eighth seed: Loser of the first game – Winner of the second game (14/4)
Lakers sweepstakes
Completing the late-season rally with a direct ticket to the Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers can finish sixth with a win against the Utah Jazz if the New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors both drop their own games or through a three-way tie with the Warriors and Pelicans.
The Lakers will instead rank seventh if the Warriors win and the Pelicans lose, in a four-way tie with the Clippers, Warriors, and Pelicans, or in a two-way tie with the Pelicans.
If the Pelicans and Warriors both win but the Clippers lose, the Lakers win would not be enough to avoid the eighth seed. The eighth spot will be the outcome of a loss regardless of the rest of the games.
In the hunt for the fifth seed
The wider range of possible finishes belongs to the Pelicans, from fifth to ninth. The best-case scenario would need both the Warriors and Clippers to lose, thus creating a favorable multiteam tie at 43-39.
The Pelicans will get the sixth seed if the Warriors win and the Clippers lose or in a two-way tie with the Warriors.
A three-way tie with the Warriors and Lakers would mean the seventh seed as would the Clippers and Warriors winning but the Lakers losing would isolate the Pelicans with the lone 43-39 record.
Staying in a two-way tie with the Lakers would mean the eighth seed. A loss would lock them in the ninth seed.
Clippers control their own destiny
A win against the Phoenix Suns would guarantee fifth seed for the Clippers. Even a loss paired with the Pelicans and Warriors also losing would clinch the fifth seed.
In case of defeat, the sixth place would be the case if the Warriors notch a 44th win or if both the Pelicans and Lakers match the Clippers and Warriors in a four-way tie at 43-39.
The Clippers can even finish seventh and go to the Play-Ins if they lose and the Pelicans, Lakers, and Warriors all win or if the Pelicans win and the Lakers lose.
Warriors challenge
To sneak past the Clippers, the Warriors must defeat the Portland Trail Blazers and get good news from Footprint Center.
If the Clippers prevail in Phoenix, the Warriors will land in the sixth seed with a win. They will also punch in the last direct ticket to the Playoffs with a loss if the Lakers and Pelicans also lose or if the Lakers and Clippers lose.
The defending champions will draw the seventh seed with a loss if the Lakers win and the Pelicans lose or if the Pelicans and Clippers win and the Lakers lose.
If they lose and both the Pelicans and Lakers win, the Warriors will fall all the way down to the eighth seed.
Ready for Play-Ins
They will not advance directly to the Playoffs, but the Minnesota Timberwolves can go from seventh to ninth in the Regular Season standings and make the Play-Ins. If they win and the Jazz beat the Lakers, they will finish in the seventh spot. If they win and the Lakers beat the Jazz, they will end up eighth. If they lose, they will remain in the ninth seed.
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