Current:Home > MarketsNBA playoff picture: How the final weekend of regular season can shape NBA playoff bracket -Ascend Finance Compass
NBA playoff picture: How the final weekend of regular season can shape NBA playoff bracket
View
Date:2025-04-14 03:17:58
The NBA playoff picture remains blurry even if aspects of the standings in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference are coming into focus.
Two days of games remain – 15 games on Friday and 15 games on Sunday.
Here’s what we know: Boston locked up the No. 1 seed, it seems weeks ago, in the East. Chicago will play host to Atlanta in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in game in the East. After that, spots 2-8 are undetermined, and somehow the battered New York Knicks still have a shot at the second seed. Indiana and Orlando can finish as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 8.
In the West, Sacramento, Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers are in the play-in scenario along with either Phoenix or New Orleans, but the order is unknown, and the Los Angeles Clippers will play Dallas in the first round.
New Orleans and Phoenix and fighting for sixth place, and Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City are battling for the top three seeds.
Here are Friday's games and what's at stake:
Chicago at Washington, 7 p.m. ET, League Pass
The Bulls have secured the No. 9 seed and get Atlanta at home in the 9-10 play-in game.
Orlando at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. ET, League Pass
The Magic are trying to hold onto a top-six seed, and the Sixers are trying to move up from seventh into the top six. Both want to avoid the play-in game. Huge game for both teams. Orlando earns a top-six seed with a victory. If Philadelphia loses, it is in the play-in game.
Brooklyn at New York, 7:30 p.m. ET, League Pass
The No. 2 seed remains within reach for the Knicks, and a win vs. Brooklyn secures the No. 3 seed at least.
Indiana at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m. ET, League Pass
Cleveland can finish as high as No. 2 or as low as No. 7, and the Pacers can finish as high as No. 3 or as low as No. 8. The Cavaliers clinch a top-six seed with a victory or a Philadelphia loss, and the Pacers clinch a top-six seed with a victory or a playoff loss.
Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 p.m. ET, League Pass
This game matters because Charlotte wants the best lottery odds it can get by losing as many games as it can.
Denver at San Antonio, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass
The Nuggets can get the top seed in the West if they win their final two games of the season. Also, a Nuggets victory combined with Oklahoma City and Minnesota losses gives them the top seed in the West.
Milwaukee at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. ET, NBA TV
This is an important game for both teams with a No. 2 seed on the line for both teams in their conferences. The Thunder are guaranteed no worse than a No. 3 seed, and the second-place Bucks could fall to No. 4. With a victory, they clinch the No. 2 seed.
Atlanta at Minnesota, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass
While the Timberwolves don’t control their destiny for the No. 1 seed in the West, they do for the No. 2 seed based on the tiebreaker.
Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass
Spots 6-10 in the West may just come down to the final day of the season. The Lakers need the win if they want to avoid 10th place and at least one play-in game on the road.
Toronto at Miami, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass
Even though the Heat are in eighth place, they still have a shot at getting the No. 5 seed though they will go to the play-in game with a loss or an Orlando victory.
Detroit at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. ET, League Pass
The Mavs still have a shot at the No. 4 seed – they trail by one game the Los Angeles Clippers, who own the tiebreaker based on a 2-1 edge in the season series.
Houston at Portland, 10 p.m. ET, League Pass
Lottery ping-pong balls matter for Portland.
New Orleans at Golden State, 10 p.m. ET, League Pass
The Pelicans can finish sixth by winning their final two games. They can also get the sixth seed with a victory against Golden State and a Phoenix loss to Sacramento. If Phoenix and New Orleans conclude the regular season with identical records, the Suns win the head-to-head tiebreaker for the sixth seed. The Warriors can finish seventh … or they can end up 10th.
Phoenix at Sacramento, 10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV
The Suns still have a shot at the No. 6 seed, trailing New Orleans by one game. The Kings are stuck in the play-in game.
Utah at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET, League Pass
The Clippers will play the Mavs in the first round in the 4-5 game. If the Clippers beat the Jazz, they get home court in the series.
veryGood! (83139)
Related
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- Abreu homers again to power Astros past Twins 3-2 and into 7th straight ALCS
- US inflation may have risen only modestly last month as Fed officials signal no rate hike is likely
- Hidden junk fees from businesses can drive up costs. Biden, FTC plan would end it.
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- By The Way, Here's That Perfect T-Shirt You've Been Looking For
- October Prime Day deals spurred shopping sprees among Americans: Here's what people bought
- New indictment charges Sen. Menendez with being an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- James McBride wins $50,000 Kirkus Prize for fiction for “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store”
Ranking
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Florida citrus forecast improves over last year when hurricanes hit state
- Which states gained the most high-income families, and which lost the most during the pandemic
- Caroline Ellison says working at FTX with Bankman-Fried led her to lie and steal
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- IMF sees economic growth in the Mideast improving next year. But the Israel-Hamas war poses risks
- 'Hot Ones,' Bobbi Althoff and why we can't look away from awkward celebrity interviews
- California governor signs 2 major proposals for mental health reform to go before voters in 2024
Recommendation
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
Olympics legend Mary Lou Retton continues to fight for her life in ICU, daughter says
Powerball ticket sold in California wins $1.765 billion jackpot, second-biggest in U.S. lottery history
Legendary editor Marty Baron describes his 'Collision of Power' with Trump and Bezos
Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
A youth football coach was shot in front of his team during practice at a park in St. Louis
Inside the East vs. West rap rivalry that led to the murders of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. in 1990s
$1.765 billion Powerball jackpot goes to a player who bought a ticket in a California mountain town