The 2023-24 NBA regular season will end on Sunday, but it's sure to be a tense day as several teams' postseason standings remain undetermined.
The Western Conference is a three-way structure with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets competing for first place. Each team's record is 56 wins and 25 losses.
Denver briefly held a one-game lead after defeating Minnesota on Wednesday. But on Friday night, the Nuggets lost 121-120 to the San Antonio Spurs, giving them a big loss in the standings with wins for the Thunder and Timberwolves.
Wild, Wild West.
Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City enter the final day of the NBA regular season with the same record.
It will be the first time in league history that all three teams have the same record through 81 games and a chance to earn the No. 1 seed. pic.twitter.com/AHOTRM79ZD
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 13, 2024
In the Eastern Conference, the competition for seeds 2-4 will be fierce. If the Bucks beat the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee would earn the No. 2 seed and have home court advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs if they advance that far. Other than that, things get chaotic for the Bucks in a hurry. (See below for details.)
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers hold the key to unlocking the play-in tournament schedule, and the East's matchup schedule for July 8 is in flux.
There's a lot to figure out heading into Sunday's game. The Athletic We covered playoff and play-in tournament scenarios and conference standings.
Standings as of Sunday
Eastern Conference (*= earns a play-in spot):
- Celtics (63-18)
- Bucks (49-32)
- Knicks (49-32)
- Cavaliers (48-33)
- Magic (46-35)
- Pacers (46-35)
- 76ers (46-35)
- Heat (45-36)
- Bulls* (39-42)
- Hawks* (36-45)
Western Conference (*= earns play-in spot):
- Thunder (56-25)
- Timberwolves (56-25)
- Nuggets (56-25)
- Clippers (51-30)
- Mavericks (50-31)
- Pelicans (49-32)
- Suns (48-33)
- Lakers* (46-35)
- Kings* (45-36)
- Warriors* (45-36)
even deeper
Warriors, Kings, Lakers: Who will take the No. 8 seed in the West?
Playoff games start on Sunday
play-in tournament
Heat vs. 76ers, winner plays Bucks
Lakers vs. Suns, winner will play Timberwolves
Hawks vs. Bulls, loser eliminated
Warriors at Kings, loser eliminated
Winner of Hawks vs. Bulls, loser of Heat vs. 76ers, winner will play Celtics
Warriors vs. Kings winner, Lakers vs. Suns loser, winner plays Thunder
playoff matchup
(1) Celtics vs. (8) Play-in winner
(2) Bucks vs. (7) Heat/76ers Winner
(3) Knicks vs. (6) Pacers
(4) Cavaliers vs. (5) Magic
(1) Thunder vs. (8) Play-in winner
(2) Timberwolves vs. (7) Suns/Lakers winner
(3) Nuggets vs. (6) Pelicans
(4) Clippers vs. (5) Mavericks
Sunday schedule (Eastern time)
- Hawks vs. Pacers (1 p.m.)
- Wizards vs. Celtics (1 p.m.)
- Raptors at Heat (1 p.m.)
- Bulls vs. Knicks (1 p.m.)
- Hornets vs. Cavaliers (1 p.m.)
- Bucks at Magic (1 p.m.)
- Nets at 76ers (1 p.m.)
- Nuggets vs. Grizzlies (3:30 p.m.)
- Trail Blazers at Kings (3:30 p.m.)
- Jazz at Warriors (3:30 p.m.)
- Mavericks at Thunder (3:30 p.m.)
- Pistons vs. Spurs (3:30 p.m.)
- Suns at Timberwolves (3:30 p.m.)
- Rockers at Clippers (3:30 p.m.)
- Lakers vs. Pelicans (3:30 p.m.)
to follow The Athletic's NBA Play-In Tournament and Playoff Bracket Blog will keep you posted on Sunday's developments.
Scenarios affecting Western Conference No. 1 seed
None of Denver, Oklahoma City and Minnesota State, who share a 56-25 record, have complete control over the West's top seed.
Here are the scenarios that will determine the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City is the top seed. If all three people win, or if all three people lose. In either scenario, Minnesota would be his No. 2 and Denver would be his No. 3.
Denver is the top seed. If they win and the other two teams lose, Minnesota will take second place and Oklahoma City will take third place.
Minnesota is the top seed. If Oklahoma City wins and Denver loses, Oklahoma City will take second place.
Oklahoma City is the top seed. If Minnesota wins and Minnesota loses.
Denver will move up to second place: If it wins and one of the other two teams loses. If only one of the three teams loses, that team becomes the third seed.
Setting the stage for a battle for No. 2 and No. 4 seeds in the East region.
If Milwaukee wins: Bucks are 2nd seed, Knicks are 3rd seed, Cleveland is 4th seed
If Milwaukee loses, New York wins, and Cleveland loses: New York is the No. 2 seed, Milwaukee is the No. 3 seed and Cleveland is the No. 4 seed.
If Milwaukee loses and Cleveland and New York both win: New York is the No. 2 seed, Cleveland is the No. 3 seed and Milwaukee is the No. 4 seed.
If Milwaukee loses and New York and Cleveland both lose: Milwaukee is the No. 2 seed, New York is the No. 3 seed and Cleveland is the No. 4 seed.
If Milwaukee and New York lose and Cleveland wins: Cleveland will receive the No. 2 seed, Milwaukee will be the No. 3 seed and New York will be the No. 4 seed.
even deeper
Bucks get 'good result' against Thunder in playoff standings, opponent still to be determined
Setting the stage for 5th to 8th seeds in the East region
If everyone loses or everyone wins: Orlando is fifth, Indiana sixth, Philadelphia seventh and Miami eighth.
If Orlando wins: The Magic will be the No. 5 seed unless Indiana loses and Philadelphia wins, in which case the Magic will be the No. 6 seed.
If Orlando loses and Miami wins: Orlando will be the No. 8 seed unless Indiana also loses, in which case the Magic will be No. 7.
If Indiana wins: The Pacers will be the No. 6 seed unless Orlando loses, in which case they will move up to No. 5.
If Philadelphia wins: The Sixers won't be any worse than a No. 7 seed. If Indiana loses, the 76ers will move into fifth place. If Indiana wins and Orlando loses, the 76ers will move into sixth place.
If Miami loses: It is the 8th seed.
If Miami wins and Orlando wins: Miami is the No. 8 seed.
If Miami wins and Orlando loses: Miami is the Southeast Regional champion and will be seeded ahead of Orlando. If that happens and either Indiana or Philadelphia loses, Miami will move up to No. 6. If that happens and both teams lose, Miami will move into fifth place. Otherwise, Miami would be in seventh place.
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(Photo of Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokic: Bart Young / NBAE via Getty Images)
