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The final two days of the 2022-23 NBA regular season are here. While most of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket is set, there's still a lot to play for in the Western Conference. Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook's Los Angeles Clippers are currently knee-deep in the fight to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
The Clippers are in a battle with the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Minnesota Timberwolves as teams that could finish anywhere from seeds number 5-9 in the West.
The tiebreaker rules in order between two teams goes in this order:
– Head-to-head record
– Division leader wins tiebreaker over team not leading their division
– Division win-loss record (only if teams are in the same division)
– Conference win-loss record
Entering the final two games of the season, we'll first take a look at the head-to-head records for the five teams.
Clippers are: 42-38 | 8-7 vs. Division | 25-25 vs. Conference
2-2 vs. Warriors
4-0 vs. Lakers
0-3 vs. Pelicans
1-2 vs. Timberwolves
Warriors are: 43-38 | 7-9 vs. Division | 29-22 vs. Conference
2-2 vs. Clippers
1-3 vs. Lakers
2-2 vs. Pelicans
2-2 vs. Timberwolves
Lakers are: 42-39 | 6-10 vs. Division | 26-25 vs. Conference
0-4 vs. Clippers
3-1 vs. Warriors
3-1 vs. Pelicans
1-2 vs. Timberwolves
Pelicans are: 42-39 | 11-5 vs. Division | 29-22 vs. Conference
3-0 vs. Clippers
2-2 vs. Warriors
1-3 vs. Lakers
1-1 vs. Timberwolves (1 remaining)
Timberwolves are: 40-40 | 8-8 vs. Division | 27-23 vs. Conference
2-1 vs. Clippers
2-2 vs. Warriors
2-1 vs. Lakers
1-1 vs. Pelicans (1 remaining)
The Clippers essentially hold tiebreakers over the Warriors and Lakers while losing potential tiebreakers to the Pelicans and Timberwolves.
The Lakers hold tiebreakers over the Warriors and Pelicans, but not over the Clippers and Timberwolves.
The Pelicans hold tiebreakers over the Clippers, but not the Lakers
Now, we'll take a look at some of the 3-or-more-way tiebreaker rules in order and some of the scenarios that could follow. The chart above will help you easily add up win-loss records against multiple teams.
– Division leader wins tiebreaker over team not leading a division (this applies regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)
– Better win-loss record/winning percentage in all games among the tied teams
– Division win-loss record (only if all teams are in same division)
– Conference win-loss record
– Better winning percentage against playoff-eligible teams in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff spot)
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In a scenario where the Clippers, Warriors and Lakers finish in a tie, the order would be Clippers, Lakers, and Warriors.
The Clippers went a combined 5-2 against the Warriors and Lakers. The Warriors went 3-5 against the Clippers and Lakers. The Lakers went 3-4 against the Clippers and Warriors.
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The scenario where the Clippers, Warriors, and Pelicans all finish in a tie is the worst-case scenario for Los Angeles fans. That order would be Pelicans, Warriors, and Clippers.
LA went a combined 2-5 against the Warriors and Pelicans. The Warriors went 4-4 against the Clips and Pels. New Orleans went 5-2 against Los Angeles and Golden State.
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In a scenario where the Clippers, Warriors, Lakers, and Pelicans all finish in a tie, the order would be Pelicans, Clippers, Lakers, and Warriors.
The Pelicans are 6-5 vs. the other teams. The Clippers finished 6-5 as well, but they were swept in their own head-to-head with the Pelicans. The Lakers finished 6-6 against the Clippers, Pelicans, and Warriors. Golden State went 5-7 against those other four teams.
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You could go down this rabbit hole of tiebreakers and potential playoff seeding for hours. I only chose to highlight a few important ones, but you can use the above head-to-head information as well as the NBA's tiebreaker rules to deduce who will be placed where and which team has the better overall record.
