Four final NBA games to determine Western Conference seeding scenario

Four final NBA matchups on Sunday will determine the seeding scenario for the Western Conference.

The New Orleans Pelicans will face Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz against Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors against Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers against Phoenix Suns.

Analysts said there are several possible seeding scenarios based on the results of those games. The Warriors and Clippers, defending champions, will immediately head to the playoffs if they win Sunday. They will get a week off to prepare for Round 1 games against either the Suns or Sacramento Kings.

Losing on Sunday means that the Warriors and Clippers will need to participate in the play-in tournament starting Tuesday to secure their spots in the postseason. Golden State will likely occupy the No. 5 seed, or No. 6 if the Clippers win.

“Whatever team we play, I think we’ll be ready for.”

Donte DiVincenzo, Golden State Warriors guard

Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo asserted that the team was ready regardless of whichever opponent they would encounter in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the loser of the Pelicans-Timberwolves game will take the No. 9 seed and host the Oklahoma City Thunder in a play-in game on Wednesday. New Orleans may get the No. 5 seed if they defeat Minnesota if Portland and Phoenix also win their respective games.

“We’ve got one more game to handle our business,” New Orleans coach Willie Green told his team on Friday when they defeated the New York Knicks 113-105.

A loss to Utah will put the Lakers on the No. 8 seed and get them to play an away play-in game on Tuesday. The Lakers will be either No. 6 or No. 7 if they win over the Jazz, except if the Pelicans, Suns and Warriors also win.

The Clippers and Lakers may also meet in the play-in tournament on Tuesday if Phoenix and New Orleans win their games. However, Lakers-Warriors, Jazz-Blazers or Jazz-Warriors wins also need to happen to have the two Los Angeles teams meet in the elimination stage.

The top four seeds of the West are already set. The Denver Nuggets are currently the No. 1 seed, the Memphis Grizzlies are No. 2, the Kings take the No. 3 while Phoenix occupies the No. 4 spot. Oklahoma City settles in the No. 10.

In addition to four important matchups in the West, other NBA teams will have their final games of the 2022-23 season on Sunday.

Eastern Conference seeding already set

The seeding for the Eastern Conference is already set regardless of the results of the finals.

The Milwaukee Bucks place first in the conference, the Boston Celtics are No. 2, the Philadelphia 76ers in No. 3, the Cleveland Cavaliers take No. 4, the Knicks at No. 5 and the Brooklyn Nets are No. 6.

The No. 7 Miami Heat will play the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday to claim a spot in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the No. 9 Toronto Raptors will face the No. 10. Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. The Miami-Atlanta game loser will face the Toronto-Chicago winner on Friday.

The Miami-Atlanta winner will head to the playoffs and face the Celtics in Round 1. The winner from Friday’s play-in game will play the Bucks in Round 1.

Race for top scorer

Sixers center Joel Embiid is on track to be the scoring champion for the second straight year, with an average of 33.1 points per game this season. Embiid’s stats are unchanged because he will not participate in the season’s final game.

Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic and Trail Blazers Damian Lillard follow Embiid at 32.4 and 32.2, respectively. Analysts noted that before the 2022-23 season, only two players averaged at least 32 points per game and did not get the scoring champion title, namely Allen Iverson and Elgin Baylor.