Subscribe
Follow Us
The final day of the NBA regular season is upon us! And with that, an array of NBA play-in tournament scenarios remain on the line in both the Eastern and Western Conference. Here's a simple breakdown of how the chips will fall based on the results.
Eastern Conference
Current standings:
7.) Boston Celtics 36-35
8.) Washington Wizards 33-38
9.) Charlotte Hornets 33-38
10.) Indiana Pacers 33-38
The Boston Celtics are locked into the No. 7 seed no matter what. They will have to win one game to advance into the postseason.
The Wizards and Hornets square-off in D.C. on Sunday afternoon and it's a very simple situation. The winner gets the No.8 seed, both have the tiebreaker over the Pacers. So whoever wins will have to win one game in the play-in tournament.
On the other end, the loser falls to the No.9 or No. 10 seed. What varies on that is the Pacers result. If Indiana beats the Raptors, Indiana is the No. 9 seed. If they lose, the Hornets – Wizards loser is No. 9.
So, Charlotte or Washington will take on the Celtics in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup and the Pacers will take on the loser of the Hornets – Wizards game.
Western Conference
6.) Portland Trail Blazers 41-30
7.) Los Angeles Lakers 41-30
8.) Golden State Warriors 38-33
Article Continues Below
9.) Memphis Grizzlies 38-33
10.) San Antonio Spurs 33-38
First thing to address and clear out of the way, the San Antonio Spurs. Gregg Popovich's squad is the No. 10 seed no matter what and will have to win two games in the play-in tournament to lock in a playoff spot.
Aside from that, two separate battles remain.
The Blazers and Lakers have the same record, Portland has the tiebreaker. It's as simple as this. If the Lakers and Blazers finish with the same record, Portland avoids the dreaded NBA play-in tournament and locks in the No. 6 seed. If the Lakers beat the Pelicans and the Blazers lose to the Nuggets, Portland falls to the No. 7 seed and the Lakers lock up the No. 6 spot.
It just so happens that the Grizzlies and Warriors will go head-to-head in the finale. The winner gets the No. 8 seed in the NBA play-in and will only have to win once. The loser, falls to No. 9 and will have to win twice in as many games. A potential Lakers – Warriors matchup has many fans salivating at the thought of it.
One matchup we do know in the Western Conference, the Spurs will take on the loser of the Warriors – Grizzlies contest. Outside of that, chaos still looms large.
The Eastern Conference knows who the four teams will be in the NBA play-in tournament. The Celtics are the No. 7 seed and the Pacers will have to win twice in two games. The Wizards – Hornets matchup will help answer most of the other unanswered questions.
In the Western Conference, the Spurs are the No. 10 seed and will have to win twice in two games. The Blazers and Lakers are both trying to claw to the No. 6 spot to avoid the NBA play-in altogether. The Warriors – Grizzlies affair decides which team will need one win and which will need two.
It's all coming down to the final day of the regular season and that's exactly what the NBA had hoped for.
