NBA playoff picture, standings, bracket, matchups: Lakers jump to No. 8, Knicks remain alive for No. 2

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With just two days of games remaining in the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season, we know all 20 teams that will be participating in the postseason, but the majority of seeds are still up for grabs. Nine teams have clinched a top-six seed. 

On Friday, chaos struck the top of the Western Conference with Denver’s shocking loss to the Spurs, which landed the Nuggets in a three-way tie with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves for the West’s top seed. Each team has one game remaining. If it ends in a three-way tie, OKC would get the No. 1 seed followed by Minnesota at No. 2 and Denver at No. 3. The two-way tiebreakers are listed below. 

Also on Friday, the Pelicans took a big step toward securing the No. 6 seed with their win over the Warriors, who missed an opportunity to jump into the No. 8 seed after Sacramento lost to Phoenix. 

It is now the Lakers, who defeated Memphis on Friday, who control their destiny to secure the No. 8 seed, which means they would get two chances to win one play-in game and earn a playoff berth. 

In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the most recent team to clinch a playoff berth with their win over the Pacers, who are now in a three-way tie with the Magic and 76ers for the 5-7 seeds, with Miami within one game and what could amount to a four-way tie for 5-8. 

If Orlando, Indiana and Philadelphia finish in a three-way tie, the Magic would get the No. 5 seed as a division winner, with the Pacers taking No. 6 and Philadelphia No. 7 by virtue of Indiana’s 2-1 head-to-head advantage over the Sixers. 

If the Magic, Pacers and Sixers all lose their final game, and the Heat win their final game, we would have the aforementioned four-way tie. If that happens, Miami would get the No. 5 seed as a division winner. It would then become a three-way tie, which is settled by combined winning percentage among all teams involved. 

By that criteria, the Sixers would get the No. 6 seed with a 4-2 record against Indiana and Orlando. The Pacers would get No. 7 (3-3) and the Magic would get No. 8…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-playoff-picture-standings-bracket-matchups-lakers-jump-to-no-8-knicks-remain-alive-for-no-2/

Author : Brad Botkin

Publish date : 2024-04-13 14:19:45

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