The 2023-24 NBA regular season concludes Sunday, and because several teams’ postseason positions are undecided, it’s guaranteed to be a nail-biting day.
The Western Conference features a three-way logjam at the top between the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. Each team has a 56-25 record.
Denver briefly held a one-game lead after defeating Minnesota on Wednesday. However, the Nuggets lost 121-120 to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night — and the Thunder and Timberwolves won their games — creating a crush atop the standings.
The Wild, Wild West.
Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City each enter the final day of the NBA regular season with the same record.
It marks the first time in league history in which three teams, through 81 games, all have the same record and chance to capture the No. 1 seed in… pic.twitter.com/AHOTRM79ZD
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 13, 2024
In the Eastern Conference, the battle for seeding for the Nos. 2-4 seeds will be tight. If the Bucks beat the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee will claim the No. 2 seed and have home-court advantage in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs, if they make it that far. Other than that, things get confusing for the Bucks in a hurry. (More on that below.)
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers hold the key to unlocking the Play-In Tournament schedule, putting the date of the East’s 7/8 matchup in flux.
There’s a lot to unpack heading into Sunday’s games. The Athletic has you covered on the playoff and Play-In Tournament scenarios and conference standings.
Standings entering Sunday
Eastern Conference (*= clinched 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 (*= clinched 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)
GO DEEPER
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Playoff matchups entering Sunday
Play-In Tournament
Heat at 76ers, winner to face Bucks
Lakers at Suns, winner to face Timberwolves
Hawks at Bulls, loser eliminated
Warriors at Kings, loser eliminated
Hawks-Bulls winner at Heat-76ers loser, winner to face Celtics
Warriors-Kings winner at Lakers-Suns loser, winner to face Thunder
Playoff matchups
(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 (times ET)
- Hawks at Pacers (1 p.m.)
- Wizards at Celtics (1 p.m.)
- Raptors at Heat (1 p.m.)
- Bulls at Knicks (1 p.m.)
- Hornets at Cavaliers (1 p.m.)
- Bucks at Magic (1 p.m.)
- Nets at 76ers (1 p.m.)
- Nuggets at 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 at Spurs (3:30 p.m.)
- Suns at Timberwolves (3:30 p.m.)
- Rockers at Clippers (3:30 p.m.)
- Lakers at Pelicans (3:30 p.m.)
Follow The Athletic’s NBA Play-In Tournament and playoff bracket blog to keep up with Sunday’s action.
Scenarios affecting Western Conference’s No. 1 seed
Nobody among Denver, Oklahoma City and Minnesota — who have identical 56-25 records — has complete control in their quest to earn the West’s top seed.
Below are the following scenarios to determine the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City is the top seed: If all three win or if all three lose. In both scenarios, Minnesota would be second and Denver third.
Denver is the top seed: If it wins and the other two teams lose, in which case Minnesota would be second and Oklahoma City third.
Minnesota is the top seed: If it wins and Denver loses, in which case Oklahoma City would be second.
Oklahoma City is the top seed: If it wins and Minnesota loses.
Denver would move up to second: If it wins and one of the other two teams loses. In any scenario where only one of the three teams loses, that team will end up the third seed.
Setting the stage for the East’s Nos. 2-4 seed chase
If Milwaukee wins: The Bucks are the No. 2 seed, the Knicks are the No. 3 seed and Cleveland is the No. 4 seed
If Milwaukee loses and New York wins and Cleveland loses: New York is the No. 2 seed, Milwaukee is third and Cleveland is fourth.
If Milwaukee loses and Cleveland and New York both win: New York is the No. 2 seed, Cleveland is the third and Milwaukee is fourth.
If Milwaukee loses and New York and Cleveland both lose: Milwaukee is the No. 2 seed, New York is third and Cleveland is fourth.
If Milwaukee and New York lose and Cleveland wins: Cleveland takes over the second seed, Milwaukee is third and New York is fourth.
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Bucks get ‘a good burn’ against Thunder as playoff position, opponent still undetermined
Setting the stage for the East’s Nos. 5-8 seeds
If everybody loses or if everybody wins: Orlando is fifth, Indiana sixth, Philadelphia seventh and Miami eighth.
If Orlando wins: The Magic are the No. 5 seed unless Indiana loses and Philadelphia wins, in which case the Magic are 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 seventh.
If Indiana wins: The Pacers will be the sixth seed unless Orlando loses, in which case the Pacers would move up to fifth.
If Philadelphia wins: The Sixers will be no worse than the seventh seed. If Indiana loses, the 76ers move up to fifth. If Indiana wins and Orlando loses, the 76ers move up to sixth.
If Miami loses: It is the No. 8 seed.
If Miami wins and Orlando wins: Miami is the No. 8 seed.
If Miami wins and Orlando loses: Miami is the Southeast Division champion and will be seeded ahead of Orlando. If that happens and one of Indiana or Philadelphia also loses, Miami moves up to sixth. If that happens and both those teams lose, Miami moves up to fifth. Otherwise, Miami would be seventh.
Required reading
(Photo of Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokić: Bart Young / NBAE via Getty Images)
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